Assessing Davion Taylor's fit with the Philadelphia Eagles

Former Colorado linebacker Davion Taylor is headed to the NFL.

Taylor was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles during the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday. The versatile defender slipped just outside of the top 100 to No. 103 overall.

Taylor’s journey to the pros is unconventional. He played virtually no high school football before heading off to community college. He played two years as a hybrid defender for the Buffs in vastly different roles. He became an All-Pac-12 100-meter dash sprinter.

Now, he’s joining an organization that is a near-perfect fit for his talents.

THE ORGANIZATION

The Eagles are stable, and that’s all you can ask for.

Jeffrey Lurie is entering his 27th season as owner.

Howie Roseman has been a high-ranking executive with the Eagles for 17 years and took over final say of football decisions when Chip Kelly was fired in 2016.

Doug Pederson is entering his fifth season as head coach.

Jim Schwartz is entering his fifth season as defensive coordinator.

Ken Flajole has been coaching for 40 years and is entering his fifth season as the Eagles’ linebackers coach.

On top of that, there have been essentially zero public blowups coming out of Philadelphia in recent years.

Plus, there’s that Super Bowl to talk about.

THE SCHEME

Taylor is in for a treat.

The Eagles’ defensive philosophy is to build up the trenches with Pro Bowl talent so that running backs can rarely carry the ball into the second level. Since the line takes away the majority of the running game, the linebackers don’t have to be great run stuffers. Instead, the linebackers are typically undersized and fast to help in coverage.

Sound like a linebacker you know?

Davion Taylor is the perfect prospect to play the WILL role in the Eagles’ 4-3 defensive scheme. He may be slightly small for the role at 228 pounds, but he isn’t that far off from the prototypical mold. In fact, Philadelphia’s likely starting weakside linebacker is Jatavis Brown, who weighs in at just 212 pounds.

On running plays, Taylor may get caught on blocks from bigger offensive linemen, but if the system is working properly, he should be in the playmaker role. The rest of the front seven will attack blockers and penetrate while Taylor flows with the play before slicing through the congestion to bring down the ball-carrier. His narrow build should actually help him fulfill his duties, while it likely would have made Taylor close to unplayable in other defensive schemes.

This is a perfect fit, which is probably why the Eagles opted to spend a third-round pick on such a raw prospect.

There’s more, too.

In nickel packages, the Eagles plan on using a hybrid position that is very similar to the STAR position Taylor played at Colorado. It will be a hybrid cornerback, safety and linebacker role which will align in the slot.

As the roster stands now, cornerback Jalen Mills and safety Will Parks are the favorites to land the job, but Taylor could take over at some point. In fact, the Eagles could opt to teach the STAR position to Taylor first, since it is simpler than the WILL job and the responsibilities are more similar to what he was asked to do at Colorado.

In short, Taylor’s ceiling as a football player would put him on the field every down as a WILL. At worst, Taylor can contribute in sub-packages on third downs. The Eagles can offer him a chance to do either, which helps his odds of reaching his ceiling while also limiting bust potential.

THE DEPTH CHART

The Eagles’ defense is stacked with talent everywhere except linebacker.

Nathan Gerry, 25, is penciled in as a starter, despite being listed at just 209 pounds. TJ Edwards and Riley Duke are also 25 or younger and will compete for starting jobs.

Jatavis Brown is a favorite to land the weakside job, but he’s in his first year in Philadelphia. He was a starter for the Chargers until last season when he saw his defensive snap count cut from 637 in 2018 to 92 in 2019. Brown signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Eagles this offseason.

From the outside, it seems as though Brown will be the placeholder at WILL linebacker this season, while Taylor, Duke and rookie Shaun Bradley battle it out to become the longterm starter. Brown could also be re-signed.

This timeline fits Taylor well, as he likely isn’t ready to handle a full-time starting job as a rookie. Instead, he can earn snaps in nickel packages as a slot defender or in dime packages as a cover linebacker. Those jobs would be easier to learn than the WILL job.

Then, after the season, Eagles coaches can decide whether he’s ready to take on a starting linebacker job.