Darrell Taylor Embracing Leadership Role in Evolving Seahawks' Defense

With an opportunity for new leaders to emerge on defense, coaches and teammates are looking to Taylor as one of the young players to take up the mantle.

It may still be a shock to some, but Bobby Wagner no longer plays for the Seahawks and the former defensive captain’s departure creates a hole, not only due to his remarkable play on defense over the past decade, but also his leadership on and off the field.

Darrell Taylor, the Seahawks uber-talented third-year outside linebacker, has surfaced as one of the players stepping up to the challenge to help fill that leadership void. All smiles while speaking with the media after Tuesday's OTA session, he described not having Wagner around as "crazy," but while he misses his mentor, he also remains eager to move on with new players, new coaches, and a different scheme.

“We have a new defensive coordinator and we're all looking to move forward and do what we're supposed to do to help our team win. And that's it," Taylor told reporters.

Taylor, whom the Seahawks traded up to select in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, had plenty of flashy plays in 2021 after missing his entire rookie year recovering from leg surgery. A scary neck injury suffered against the Steelers in Week 6 slowed his production in the second half, but he still finished tied for second on the team behind only Carlos Dunlap with 6.5 sacks and posted a team-high 36 pressures according to Pro Football Focus.

Ability has never been a question for Taylor. Viewing him as a perfect fit playing the SAM/LEO roles as a hybrid linebacker in a defense featuring more 3-4 looks, new Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt offered glowing praise of Taylor’s ceiling as a pass rusher on Tuesday.

“He can be as great as he wants to be," Hurtt said. "I think the kid has a world of ability.”

Entering the 2022 season, Taylor will be looked upon to unlock more of that immense potential while providing mentorship of his own for incoming rookies Boye Mafe and Tyreke Smith. With accountability being prioritized by Hurtt and his staff in their first year running the show for Seattle defensively, the onus will fall on players such as Taylor to rise up into greater leadership roles.

“Really, it's along with guys like Jordyn Brooks and the young guys, the leadership for the young group that's came in with like [Boye] Mafe and Tyreke [Smith] on the edges," Hurtt said of Taylor finding his voice in year three. "Just his attention to detail. The leadership with his work ethic, his energy, which is natural for him.”

Though he just turned 25 years old in March and is far from an aging veteran by any means, with Wagner and K.J. Wright both departing over the past two seasons, Taylor now stands out as one of the established veterans along Seattle's front seven. Even with only 543 defensive snaps to his name, that's still nearly double what Cody Barton has played in three seasons as he prepares to take over as the new MIKE linebacker.

As far as taking on a mentorship role as an “older” linebacker for the Seahawks, Taylor doesn't view the adjustment as much of a challenge and he's staying within himself.

“I just teach them what I've learned. Whatever I've learned over the time being here in the NFL, and learning from the guys that have been here with me, I just teach them what I know. So it's not really hard," Taylor explained. "I've always fell in the position of leadership on every team I've been on. I like that they want me to be that and I'm excited to step into that role and be everything the Seahawks want me to be.”

With other veterans such as safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams away rehabbing injuries, Taylor has an excellent opportunity to continue developing his leadership skills during OTAs and become a leader for Seattle for years to come.

While others may not have high expectations for the Seahawks after an offseason characterized by transition and turnover, if players such as Taylor take a big step forward in Hurtt's scheme, this defense could put the rest of the league on notice in time. With minicamp and training camp approaching, he's encouraged by the progress of the unit and where they are headed.

“We're excited. If you don't see that, then I don't know what's wrong with you. But yeah, we're definitely excited. All I can say is that being here, going from last year to this year, I think we're excited about where we're headed and we're not worried about what anybody else thinks of us.”