Trent Taylor

[Shadowlight]

Thrashen it is not your imagination. Over the past few years there has been a general trend that looks upon white skill players more favorably. I also believe say the NFL has recognized to some extent that white skill players is good for the BOTTOM LINE. Witness all the excitement over the Patriots magical victory where three white wide receivers performed like champs. The Patriots victory drove home the point that the long trend that was increasingly marginalizing white skill players was not a very good idea from a social and or business aspect.
But there are still three disruptive barriers to this tangible but minimal progress we are witnessing.
One is the league is still skewered towards being heavily black. Believe me if sports in general ever reached a point where I was satisfied I would have no need for this caste football site.
Second there are still plenty of media outlets and sports analysts that play the caste card on a consistent basis. One prime example is ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning."
Third is we need to stay vigilant because this slight uptick in white skill presence is bucking a long sturdy consistent trend. In a sense this is a pushback to a long established caste setting. Blink and this uptick could disappear. Plus we are still at a low level but gains are gains and the last thing we need here are setbacks once again. We can't go back to the really bad old days.

 

[Don Wassall]

Given what seems to be Pro Football Focus's deep bias against White players when it comes to its subjective evaluations and ratings, this is quite the achievement by Taylor:

PFF names 49ers’ Trent Taylor as best slant-route receiver

For the second-straight year, Pro Football Focus named the best NFL players across a variety of categories. The list, which utilizes the site's unique analytics data to determine the players, was presented on ESPN.

Just one member of the San Francisco 49ers appeared on the list and, like much of the roster, he is a rookie. The player isn't one of the team's first-round selections, but one of its later-round picks.

The listing fell under the category of "Best pass-catcher by route, " and the specific route was the slant. The 49ers player is rookie receiver Trent Taylor, who has played in the slot in over 75-percent of his routes.

Pro Football Focus explains the selection like this:

"It'd be easy to go with Dez Bryant, who gained the most yards on slant routes and did so from the outside receiver position. But Taylor's nine receptions on nine slant targets and 148.6 passer rating generated are hard to ignore. The rookie led the nation in yards gained from the slot in his last season at Louisiana Tech and has continued to produce for the 49ers this season with all nine of his slant catches coming from the slot. He has been the league's top wideout on slant targets this season."

full article: http://www.49erswebzone.com/articles/111682-pff-names-49ers-trent-taylor-best-slant-route-receiver/

 

[Don Wassall]

Trent Taylor was one of the top rookie receivers in the NFL last season, along of course with Cooper Kupp. When was the last time two White receivers made their mark as rookies? Answer: I don't know for sure but it's been a long time.

Taylor received high grades from Pro Football Focus, which is usually very biased against White players with their very subjective rankings that no one is able to question how they're compiled yet are accepted at face value by the media (much like the "rankings" of the SPLC are never questioned), so Trent looks to get only better in his second season.

Trent Taylor Was Mr. Clutch for 49ers Late in Games
The 5-foot-8 slot receiver ranked among the NFL's most reliable pass catchers late in games according to Pro Football Focus

by Doug Williams

Pierre Garcon is Mr. Reliable. Marquise Goodwin has elite speed as a deep threat. Dante Pettis comes into the NFL with the potential to make big plays.

As the 49ers head toward training camp – rookies and veterans are scheduled to begin reporting on July 25 – Garcon, Goodwin and Pettis are likely to be the headliners of the wide receiver corps. Yet second-year man Trent Taylor is expected to be the team’s No. 1 slot receiver.

After catching 48 passes as a rookie in 2017, the 5-foot-8 former Louisiana Tech standout hopes to build on what he did in his opening act as a professional player.

Taylor showed he’s reliable in the clutch and quick enough to make gains after catching short throws from Jimmy Garoppolo. Taylor and Garoppolo made for a good combination late in the season. Taylor’s overall catch rate was a terrific 71.7 percent. On 60 passes aimed his way, he caught 43. He was even better late in games.

How good was Taylor in the clutch?

Very good.

This week, Ben Cooper of the analytic website Pro Football Focus included Taylor at No. 4 among all NFL receivers in fourth-quarter or overtime performance in 2017.

Wrote Cooper: “Taylor wasn’t the flashiest rookie of 2017, but he made his mark through consistent play that gave his team a chance to win games. Both of his touchdowns in 2017 came in the fourth quarter and both were because of his shiftiness. On both plays, Taylor found pockets of space and gave his quarterback a reliable option to punch it in late in a game. That reliability was evident in his 4Q/OT catch rate, which was fourth among receivers (80 percent).

“With Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, Taylor was a perfect 6-for-6 in 4Q/OT catches, with one touchdown. Look for Taylor to become a favorite of Garoppolo’s as they develop even more chemistry in 2018.”

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loc...Clutch-for-49ers-Late-in-Games-486262521.html

 

[Don Wassall]

Trent's rookie highlights (you may want to watch with the sound turned off):

 

[sprintstar]

thanks for the video and the heads up on the music lol so bad!!! It seems he is a lot faster than given credit for and he is very hard to get a clean hit on as he is always rolling and spinning. Exciting to see what this year has in store for him!

 

[Don Wassall]

Trent Taylor is someone I'm worried about falling through the cracks and out of the NFL after a promising rookie year in 2017. It's encouraging that he's being coached up by the great Wes Welker. He's another White receiver who needs to stay healthy to succeed.

49ers’ Trent Taylor — now a Wes Welker protégé — hopes to regain form from 2017

by Eric Branch

He’s a small, quick, talented and white, which means 49ers slot receiver Trent Taylor has forever been compared to Wes Welker.

One example: When he was a freshman at Louisiana Tech, Taylor’s teammates immediately linked him to the five-time Pro Bowler.

“I don’t think they knew my real name,” Taylor said. “I think it was just ‘Wes.’”

Taylor has obviously never been able to escape Welker.

And now that’s literally the case.

Welker, 38, is in his first season as the 49ers wide receivers coach and Taylor says he’s endured plenty of razzing from teammates and coaches since the 12-year NFL veteran was hired in February.

However, Welker and Taylor are teaming on a serious task: To get Taylor back to where he’s inspiring those familiar comparisons to Welker.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/vault/fromthearchive/
After a promising rookie season, Taylor, a 2017 fifth-round pick, failed to recapture his form last year following offseason back surgery.

He had just 26 catches for 215 yards following a 43-catch, 430-yard NFL debut which featured a strong finish: Taylor had more receiving yards (226) in the final six games of his first season than he managed in all of his second.

Taylor’s numbers fell last year after he had a procedure to shave down scar tissue in his lower back.

“I was trying to make it happen, but I didn’t have the strength to make it happen,” Taylor said. “So being able to have the whole offseason to gain that strength back and feel that explosiveness all over again, it’s been really good … What makes me successful is my quickness and explosiveness.”

In addition to improved health, Taylor, 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, now has a position coach who used quickness and explosiveness to overcome his lack of size. Listed at 5-9 and 185 pounds during his career, Welker ranks 22nd in NFL history in career receptions (903).

“It’s been extremely helpful, honestly, the type of perspective that he brings,” Taylor said. “You can hear the way he thought through his routes and that’s something that no one else can emulate. No matter how hard they tried or how hard they studied an offense: You wouldn’t be able to get those types of tips to find that edge that he played with. It’s pretty special stuff.”

Welker, who spent the previous two seasons as a Texans assistant, knew about Taylor before he arrived in Santa Clara. He studied him before the 2017 draft and appreciated how his instincts helped him lead the nation in receiving yards (1,803) as a senior and leave Louisiana Tech ranked fifth in Division I history in receptions (327).

“Trent has been really fun to coach,” Welker said. “That’s probably the easiest guy for me to coach not only because of his skillset, but (he’s a) smart kid. He understands the game. Understands space — all those different things.

“He’s been healthy this whole spring, which has really helped him, and he’s been doing a really great job.”

Welker, who went undrafted, maximized his ability. And Taylor, 25, said he learned something about doing just that as he endured a trying second NFL season.

Taylor expected to recapture his elusiveness once he was medically cleared. But he suggested the way he rehabbed from his surgery was a factor in him being largely a non-factor in 2018.

“I didn’t realize how serious of a problem … it was going to be to come back from that,” Taylor said. “And how much I would have to put into it to really bring myself back to 100 percent. It was a growing experience for me just to realize how big of a deal it is taking care of your body and paying attention to every little detail when it comes to treatment and workouts.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-Trent-Taylor-now-a-Wes-Welker-13966347.php

 

[Bucky]

Stay healthy Trent! Pretty awesome that Wes Welker is his position coach!

 

[Don Wassall]

More early good news on the Trent Taylor front. From Weenieworld:

NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco reports Richie James has fallen behind Trent Taylor for the starting slot role.
James showed flashes last year but finished with just 14 targets. The 49ers added rookies Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd this offseason, so even if Taylor fades, it's not going to be easy for James to hold off competition. James' special teams value should secure his roster spot.

 

[Don Wassall]

This could be a very good year for White slot receivers:

David Lombardi of The Athletic said Trent Taylor has "taken his receiving presence to a new level" at 49ers training camp.
Lombardi added that he expects Taylor to make "a lot of noise" in 2019 while attributing his success this summer to the arrival of WRs coach Wes Welker. Taylor shares plenty of traits with Welker, a similarly diminutive slot receiver who went to five Pro Bowls over his 12-year career. The 2017 fifth-rounder would seem to have a decisive edge over Richie James for slot duties in San Francisco, though consistent volume could be hard to come by with George Kittle, Dante Pettis, Deebo Samuel and Marquise Goodwin also in the Niners' pass-catching mix.

 

[Leonardfan]

Really hope Trent has a healthy year! I find it pretty cool Welker is his position coach.

 

[Thrashen]

Trent Taylor broke his toe and had surgery, but will allegedly be healthy by Week #1. He's also widely projected to make the team along with Pettis, Samuel, Hurd, Goodwin, Matthews, and James. Given the number of WR's that SF drafted, it's great to see Trent survived being replaced...

https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/8...taylor-was-the-mvp-of-the-49ers-training-camp

 

[backrow]

He's out for the opener and most likely for the week 2 game as well, he shed the walking boot 3-4 days ago.

 

[Don Wassall]

I was pretty sure Trent Taylor was a goner this season, but SF's number one receiver Deebo Samuel broke his foot the other day and will miss a good chunk of the season if not all of it, and now this. If Trent can stay healthy after all his injury problems the past two years he stands to greatly benefit. Richie James was his main competition for the slot job:

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports 49ers WR Richie James recently broke a bone in his wrist while training.
He’s expected to be sidelined for the next two months. It’s more fuel to the fire as Deebo Samuel (broken foot) was recently projected to miss the next 10-12 weeks, too. Rather than being worked in slowly, No. 25 Brandon Aiyuk will likely be involved heavily out of necessity to start the year alongside Jalen Hurd, Trent Taylor, and perhaps even Dante Pettis. George Kittle remains the direct beneficiary of any further injuries to the team’s receiving corps.

 

[Don Wassall]

Trent Taylor has a chance to essentially take over Alex Ericson's role with the Bengals. Injuries sabotaged a promising start to his NFL career.

Trent Taylor has been the pleasant surprise of Bengals camp thus far

by John Acree

There are bound to be a few surprises – some good, some bad – where the 2021 Cincinnati Bengals are concerned.

One pleasant surprise so far in training camp has been receiver/return specialist Trent Taylor, who comes to the Bengals from the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

But he is not a surprise to Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor, who got to see Trent Taylor twice a year as the assistant wide receivers coach/quarterbacks coach for the NFC West-rival Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and 2018.

“He’s been in this league several years, been in a very similar system, so it’s not foreign to him, so he’s able to play fast,” Coach Taylor said of one of the Bengals’ newer additions, who is hoping to step into the shoes of the departed Alex Erickson. “It might not be the same name of the play that he’s used to, but he can recognize the concept and say OK, I know that concept, we ran it in San Francisco.”

And it wasn’t that long ago that Trent Taylor not only ran it, but ran it well.

As a rookie in 2017, Taylor went for 430 yards on 43 receptions, with two touchdowns. Injuries derailed his progress, though, as he missed all of 2019 due to foot surgery. Last year, Taylor managed just 10 catches for 86 yards through 12 games.

Taylor the receiver, at 5-8 and 180 pounds, has been having an outstanding camp so far, and is one of the highlights for an offense that is widely expected to be one of the best in the NFL.

“[Friday], you saw him make two great catches,” Coach Taylor said, “the one on the shallow cross at the goal line and then that far pylon route, that was a great job throwing him open there by, I think it was Brandon (Allen). And then he went and made a great top-tap play in the back of the end zone, so he’s done a nice job. He’s really detailed.”

Despite the praise, Taylor, the shifty slot receiver out of Louisiana Tech, is not taking anything for granted.

“I’ve got to come in and win a job,” he told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. Being the new guy on the block, I’ve got to earn everything that’s been given to me. I’ve got to keep fighting and keep putting up one good day after another.”

So far, he’s off to a good start.

https://www.cincyjungle.com/2021/8/3/22607145/bengals-camp-2021-trent-taylor-cincinnati-49ers-news

 

[Leonardfan]

I hope Taylor is able to carve out a role. He was alot of fun to watch at La Tech and had a promising start to his pro career. He runs very hard - for a player of his smaller stature he is certainly powerful and does not shy from contact. Burrow will need a solid reliable slot guy and Taylor will hopefully fill that spot.

 

[Bucky]

Taylor's only obstacle will be to stay healthy! Other than being a White WR. Cheering for the guy!