NFL Draft Profile: Ja'Sir Taylor, Cornerback, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#6
Pos: CB
Ht: 5104
Wt: 186
Hand: 0848
Arm: 3078
Wing: 7438
DOB: 1/18/99
Eligible: 2022
Asbury Park, NJ
Brick Township High School
Ja'Sir Taylor
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Pros:
Taylor shows good closing speed in zone coverage, comes down out of his backpedal quickly. High-effort guy in run support, looks to shed and make plays. He has discipline in zone coverage, his eyes stay in the right spot, gets depth and passes off receivers. Snaps at both outside and slot at Wake.
Cons:
In man coverage, he opens up his hips too early and gives up leverage. Lacks long speed, will get beat deep at times. Needs to wrap up better as a tackler, will bounce off at and miss. Lacks press skills to get his hands on receivers off the line of scrimmage. Doesn't recognize routes fast enough, gives up too much separation at the top of routes. Gets too handsy throughout the route, too many flags. Ball skills aren’t there to get his head around and make a play.
Summary:
Extremely experienced player, logging over 2,000 snaps as a Demon Deacon. Projects better in zone coverage, but isn’t the playmaker to be a ball hawk at the next level. Could stick as a camp guy and develop as a special teamer to give defenses depth.
Background:
In High School, Ja’Sir Taylor was rated the No. 146 athlete nationally by 247 and ranked No. 2 on the Super 60 Shore Conference recruits by the Burlington (NJ) Free Press. He earned all-conference honors in 2016 and was the Green Dragons’ top rusher as a senior with 544 yards and 11 touchdowns. Taylor led Brick Township to the 2013 Central Jersey Group 4 State Championship and a runner-up finish in 2016 and was also a track standout who has run a 10.74 100 meters. He was a four-year letterwinner for Rob Dahl and Len Zdanowicz.
In 2017, his freshman year, Taylor started vs. Syracuse (11/11) and NC State (11/18). he had five passes defended during his first season and made his college debut vs. Presbyterian. He collected two tackles and saw extensive action at Notre Dame (11/4) and had four tackles to go with a PBU. In his first career start at Syracuse (11/11) he had five tackles and one PBU. He started at CB vs. NC State (11/18) and had five tackles and a PBU. Taylor saw extensive action in the Belk Bowl after Amari Henderson suffered a first half injury. He was on the field for 57 snaps in start vs. Syracuse and added 51 plays against Duke in the season finale. Taylor had one stop in the Belk Bowl win over Texas A&M in career-best 65 snaps.
In 2018, Taylor earned his second varsity letter by playing a prominent role in the secondary. He played in all 13 games, starting four and saw a team-high 90 snaps against Towson (9/8). He had a season-high three pass break-ups to go with four tackles in the season-opener at Tulane (8/30) and a Season-best five tackles against Rice (9/29). Taylor finished 16th on the team with 26 total tackles.
In 2019, Taylor played in all 13 games as a junior and finished second on the team with two interceptions. He grabbed picks in consecutive games against Duke (11/23) and Syracuse (11/30) and matched his career-high with five tackles against Florida State (10/19) and Michigan State (12/27). Taylor added tackles for loss against Utah State (8/30) and Duke, He played 635 snaps with a season-high 70 vs. Florida State (10/19) and received his third varsity letter.
In 2020, Taylor finished fifth on the team in tackles with 42, adding two interceptions and six pass break-ups. He was named Third Team All-ACC by Phil Steele and snagged second interception of the year along with five tackles and a pass break-up vs UNC (11/14). He made a career-high seven tackles (six solo) vs Virginia Tech (10/24). Taylor totaled five tackles vs. Campbell (10/2) and returned his first interception of the season at NC State (9/19) 45 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first Demon Deacon to record a pick six since Nov. 11, 2018. Taylor earned fourth varsity letter and was named a team captain ahead of the 2020 season.
In 2021, Taylor placed on the preseason second team All-ACC by Lindy's Sports and earned preseason third team All-ACC status from Athlon Sports. He was named a team captain ahead of the 2021 season as he was one of four returning captains from the 2020 season and named ACC Specialist of the Week after his week one performance against Old Dominion where he returned his first ever kickoff return for a 99 yard touchdown. Taylor tied a career high seven tackles against Louisville. In total he played in all 48 games in his Wake Forest career, starting all nine games in 2020. He totaled 125 career tackles with 106 solo tackles including a career-best 34 in 2020 and tallied four career interceptions all coming in the last two seasons.
One-Liners
Veteran presence for the Deacon defense with the football IQ that could stick him on NFL rosters.
Grades
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
5.8 / 6.5
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