Fred Taylor Makes His Own Case for the Hall of Fame, Discusses Foles/Minshew, and More
Former Jacksonville Jaguar running back Fred Taylor, one of the most productive runners of his generation and a player regarded as one of the best Jaguars ever, has never been shy about making his own case for his Pro Football Hall of Fame Candidacy.
Taylor once again went to bat for himself when he made an appearance Friday on NFL Total Access on the NFL Network. Taylor sat down with his former Jaguars' teammate and partner in crime Maurice Jones-Drew to explain his position on making it into Canton, along with discussing several other topics.
"Obviously, I think I belong," Taylor said when asked about the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"It is not in my hands. I think the voters after doing a deep dive, they will understand that I belong there too. I really believe I had a solid career. And hopefully the writers, they will understand that one day too."
Taylor recorded 13,632 total yards and 70 touchdowns in his career, with the vast majority of those coming with Jacksonville. He is the all-time leading rusher in franchise history with 11,271 yards, more than 3,000 more than the back behind him.
When it comes to his production during his career, which spanned from 1998 to 2010, Taylor marked most of the boxes. He ran for at least 1,000 yards in seven of his 13 seasons and scored 32 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons alone.
Taylor is on the hall's current preliminary ballot for the 2020 class, along with 121 other players from the modern era.
During his appearance, Taylor also discussed the relationship he had with Jones-Drew when the younger running back was drafted in 2006 to join Taylor in Jacksonville's backfield. The two were a dynamic duo for three seasons and Taylor explained why they were able to work so well together so quickly.
"When you came in Mojo, I know that prior to you coming, the team had drafted a few other guys. I had an injury trail, so they wanted to make sure they had insurance in there," Taylor told Jones-Drew on the show. "But just looking back, you were way better than all those guys. And not knocking them, you were just a special talent coming out of UCLA. "
"You could catch the ball, return the ball, kick return, punt return, a great running back," Taylor continued. "So really I just wanted to come in and teach you everything that I had learned from my experiences to make sure that those moments that I wasn't going to be in the game, that the offense didn't miss a beat."
Taylor also gave his opinion on the top hot button topic in Jacksonville these days, as he explained why he thinks going back to veteran quarterback Nick Foles is a good idea for the 4-5 Jaguars. Head coach Doug Marrone announced Tuesday that Foles would take Gardner Minshew II's place in the starting lineup as Foles is now healthy following a clavicle injury suffered in Week 1.
"The good thing about Nick is he is just a great person," Taylor said. "When I am there doing the games for the team, you know, when I see Nick his confidence is still high. He is just wanting to get healthy and get out there to play."
Taylor continued, "Minshew Mania was real. Being in the area, it is real as can be. But I think the fans have to understand that the team took a shot on bringing Nick Foles in and this is the guy that is going to be our franchise quarterback."
But, Taylor said, do not count out Minshew making an impact somewhere moving forward.
"And maybe Minshew, a guy that can wait around a little bit, sort of like Jimmy Garrapollo did up in New England, and he will get his opportunity. If you are great, somehow you find you way back on the field. And I think that is the case now."
What do you think? Does Fred Taylor belong in the hall of fame? Let us know in the comments below!
