Rookie Profile: Leonard Taylor, Edge, Denver Broncos
Welcome to the Rookie Profile for Leonard Taylor, a defensive lineman out of Miami-FL. He is from Miami, Florida, and was a 4-star recruit from Miami Palmetto High School.
Taylor appeared in 6 games as a freshman in 2021 for Miami-FL and had excellent production in his limited time. He racked up 7 solo tackles, 14 assists, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 pass defended.
After that solid freshman season, he was made a full-time player and appeared in 12 games. His stats were excellent with 11 solo tackles, 13 assists, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 1 interception.
His final collegiate season came in 2023 as a junior for Miami-FL. He appeared in 10 games and piled up 7 solo tackles, 12 assists, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Measurables
Draft Capital & Landing Spot
Draft Capital- Undrafted Free Agent
- Leonard was projected to be a day-three pick, and at times, a day-two pick. For him to go completely undrafted is shocking, to say the least. He did sign on with the Jets as an undrafted free agent, but that’s a far cry from the value he once had.
- Once a second-round IDP rookie pick who looked to crack the first round in the right situation, he knows finds himself outside the top three rounds and nothing more than a speculative add. He projects to be a nose tackle, so that may have killed his fantasy value regardless, but going undrafted has left him for dead as far as fantasy is concerned.
Landing Spot- New York Jets
- His landing spot is not nearly as bad as his draft capital, but it’s not great either. The Jets have some big, talented boys up front and he has little chance of beating them out for solid snaps. This defense belongs to the William’s duo and it will remain that way.
- Taylor is going to have to fight and claw his way for snaps the hard way. His best-case scenario is to one day crack the lineup and perform so well he can’t be taken out.
Team Depth Chart
Expected Role: Backup Defensive Lineman
Depth Chart via Fantasy Pros
Fantasy Impact
This is a worst-case scenario for Taylor. As I said above, he was once pushing for a potential spot at the end of the first round of IDP rookie drafts, but now finds himself well outside of round three. He now projects to be nothing better than a backup and potential practice squad player.
It remains to be seen if his skillset and technique would have translated to the NFL anyway, but going undrafted and projecting to be a backup has killed any real hope of him being fantasy-relevant.
Check out our 2024 Rookie Rankings Page for a full breakdown of this rookie class.
