The Jets recently acquired cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor via trade and he has already played in four games for the team. Today we break Taylor down in detail.
The 26-year old Taylor is listed at 5’10” and 185 pounds and was a sixth round pick out of Wake Forest in 2022. He has started 11 games in his four-year NFL career, with 88 tackles, 15 pass breakups and an interception.
Background
Taylor was a three-star high school recruit, who headed to Wake Forest in 2017 and ultimately played five seasons with them. His role and production steadily increased throughout his career to the point where he earned recognition as an all-ACC honorable mention in 2020 and 2021.
After recording 27 tackles and five pass breakups in his freshman year, he had 26 tackles and six pass breakups as a sophomore. Although he didn’t register his first interception until his junior year, he ended his career with two interceptions in each of his last three seasons.
In his final season, he had a career-high 60 tackles, four tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries.
Despite not being invited to the scouting combine, Taylor’s pro day and performance at the East West Shrine Bowl had him ranked as a potential late round pick and he was ultimately selected by the Chargers in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
He made three starts in his rookie year, which saw him record 22 tackles and a pass breakup. In his second year, however, he played a much bigger role as he was on the field for over 500 snaps with six starts. He had 32 tackles, eight pass breakups and an interception.
However, Taylor’s playing time fell off in 2024 as he made just two starts and had 22 tackles and five pass breakups. He barely played on defense in the first nine games of this season before being traded to the Jets for a 2028 seventh round pick.
He has played in four games already with the Jets, recording four tackles and a pass breakup. While he was mostly just playing special teams in the first three games, he had 30 snaps as the main slot cornerback on Sunday due to Jarvis Brownlee being out.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Taylor brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Taylor lacks ideal size and length but is a good athlete who ran a 4.47 and posted good explosiveness and agility numbers at his pro day. He managed 12 bench press reps. He has a background as a track athlete and once ran a sub-10.8 in the 100 meters.
Usage
Taylor has played extensively both on the outside and in the slot at the college and NFL levels. He was primarily an outside corner in college, but has played more in the slot at the NFL level.
Coverage skills
Taylor’s coverage numbers are not that bad, as he only gave up a catch on 58 percent of his targets in college and 63 percent at the NFL level. However, he can be prone to giving up big plays.
This seems to be his main weakness and the source of frustration for Chargers fans during his time there. He gave up five touchdowns in 2023 alone and four of these were on deep balls as he struggles to stay with his man down the field.
Even if you’re doing everything else well, big plays like that are going to stick in the mind of the fanbase. Generally speaking, Taylor fares better when he can keep the action in front of him, but he can be slow to react at times.
Ball skills
Taylor has had decent on-ball production as he shows good positional sense and an ability to break on the ball and compete at the catch-point.
In terms of interceptions, he only has one in regular season and preseason action and it was an easy one.
He did have six in college, though, including one where he impressively ripped the ball away from Dyami Brown on a deep throw to the pylon.
On deep balls at the NFL level, he has often struggled to recover, get his head turned and locate the ball in the air to make a play on it.
Tackling
Taylor has decent closing speed and range, and displays the ability to get his man on the ground once he gets hold of him. However, as Jets fans have already seen, missed tackles can be a problem at times.
In addition to sometimes taking over-aggressive angles, he can sometimes be guilty of throwing a shoulder at a bigger opponent rather than wrapping them up in space.
Taylor forced two fumbles in his college career.
Run defense
Taylor shows a willingness to get involved in run defense and displays the ability to understand his gap responsibilities with good play recognition.
Missed tackles and getting blocked out of plays when he’s in the slot are concerns in this area.
Physicality
Like a lot of smaller defensive backs, Taylor plays with tenaciousness and aggressiveness and isn’t afraid to take on a blocker.
Taylor has also showcased some big hits at times over the course of his career, both in coverage and when tackling.
He can also be physical in coverage but has had five penalties in his career for defensive holding, illegal contact or pass interference. Penalties were also a concern as he was a draft prospect because he had eight in his final season.
Blitzing
Taylor hasn’t blitzed very often but he has been credited with three quarterback hits at the NFL level. He also had a roughing the passer penalty, though.
He was credited with one sack during his college career.
Special teams
Taylor didn’t play that much on special teams in college, but it was a big role for him with the Chargers as he has 17 special teams tackles in his career. However, he also has 10 missed tackles and six penalties.
Four of those penalties were for holding and the other two were for kick catch interference.
Taylor saw extensive action as a punt gunner with the Chargers and was effective within that role, including on two plays where he pushed the vice back into the return man’s lap to force a muffed punt. However, the Jets have not used him in that role yet as they have other options.
The Jets have used him to cover kicks and as a vice on the punt return unit, though. He did an excellent job in the latter role on the punt Isaiah Williams returned for a touchdown a few weeks ago.
Instincts/Intelligence
Taylor shows the ability to make decisive reads and react quickly to blow up plays near the line of scrimmage.
However, there have also been incidences of him being slow to react, affected by misdirection or missing an assignment.
Attitude
Taylor was a two-time captain in college and seems to be a popular teammate with a demonstrative demeanor when he makes a positive contribution.
His character, work ethic and leadership have all been praised, while his on-field discipline has been solid, although he does have one unnecessary roughness penalty at the NFL level.
Injuries
Taylor was durable throughout his college career, which saw him set a school record for appearances as he didn’t miss a single game. He ended up playing 62 times for the Demon Deacons.
At the NFL level, he has missed three games in his career and was placed on injured reserve once, albeit right at the end of one season with a rib injury. He also had a minor leg injury and missed one game due to illness.
Scheme Fit
So far, it looks like the Jets view Taylor as a special teamer who can provide them with depth in the slot as he did last weekend in the Falcons game.
The fact he has given up some big plays on deep passes suggests he might be a better fit in situations where the Jets can give him safety help over the top, or in zone packages.
Taylor was also a teammate of current Jets tight end Stone Smartt while with the Chargers.
Conclusions
The cost of acquiring Taylor was practically negligible and it could amount to just a short-term rental with Taylor’s rookie deal up at the end of the year. However, it should give them the inside track on bringing him back if he does well over the remaining games this year.
As noted, he makes some good contributions on special teams, and defensive backs who can do that while also providing potential depth at more than one position are useful assets.
Whether he has the ability or upside to play a more significant role remains to be seen, but Aaron Glenn clearly has him earmarked as someone who fits what the Jets do, and has already been finding ways to get him involved.
His first extensive action on the defensive side of the ball was up and down on Sunday, but ultimately he played his part in a game the Jets won without Brownlee available. The Jets will therefore probably be satisfied with how he stepped in at short notice and will likely give him another shot if the opportunity arises.
11 punts inside the 20
