Jawaan Taylor Named Chiefs 'Most Overrated' Player – Has the Criticism Gone Too Far?

Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor was named as the team's "most overrated" player by one analyst, but it's a strange distinction for a player who has been under the microscope during his time in KC.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (74) against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

There's no doubt that Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor had a rough start to his tenure with the team after signing with the Chiefs on a four-year deal worth $80 million and $60 million guaranteed ahead of the 2023 season. Starting in Week 1, his alignment, his get-off, and his actual play were all under the microscope, which continued throughout the year. Many Chiefs fans clamored for Taylor to be benched or cut outright (a financial impossibility due to the aforementioned $60 million guaranteed), even as Taylor produced comparatively quiet and solid play for the Chiefs' Super Bowl run.

At this point, I'd argue that Taylor is underrated by most Chiefs fans. So when I saw him listed as the Chiefs' "most overrated" player by one analyst, I was a bit confused.

Anthony DiBona of Pro Football Network picked "the most overrated players on each NFL team in 2024," naming Taylor for KC:

"Jawaan Taylor certainly had an inconsistent tenure with Jacksonville to start his NFL career," DiBona wrote. "Nevertheless, the Kansas City Chiefs were willing to take a chance on him as their starting RT last season. Although the Chiefs were able to win the Super Bowl, Taylor certainly put the team in some tough situations. He was called for an absurd 24 penalties while allowing 59 total pressures. Despite that, Taylor is somehow still paid like a top-10 NFL offensive tackle."

I don't remember hearing Taylor's Jaguars years be discussed as being particularly "inconsistent" before signing with KC, but the penalty concerns are fair. Still, if you followed Taylor's '23 campaign, you'd have a feel for where those penalties were originating from as they snowballed throughout stretches of the season.

The most bizarre part of the analysis is the idea that "Taylor is somehow still paid like a top-10" tackle. I've already fired my shots at catch-all national analysis this offseason, but there's nothing surprising about how "somehow" Taylor is still highly paid. It's the contract he signed when his market was the strongest, and that contract doesn't lessen with each illegal formation penalty. Now, the Chiefs need to get a higher level of play out of Taylor in 2024 to justify the cap hit.

Seth Keysor of The Chief in the North took a closer look at Taylor's late-season and playoff film to see if there was truth beyond Taylor's simplest narratives. Here's a portion of what he found:

"Taylor was brought in to be a foundational player along the line at a high price, and it went terribly askew for much of last season," Keysor wrote. "And even down the stretch, where his play improved drastically by my charting, he still wasn’t at that 'elite' level one would hope for in the pass-blocking area. The good news is that the tools are all still there for him to return to his 2022 form in that department. It’s just a matter of whether he’s put in the offseason work to continue to adjust to how he’s being officiated and is able to utilize his feet without thinking."

Ultimately, Taylor may have been the Chiefs' most disappointing player in 2023 and could be their most overpaid player in 2024, but I'd continue to fight "overrated."

Read More: Jawaan Taylor on How He'll Bounce Back After Tumultuous Season