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Roderick Taylor (born October 26, 1994) is an American professional football offensive lineman who is a free agent. Highly recruited out of Callaway High School, he played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, where he was a part-time starter in his first three years and a full-time starter as a senior. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He has also been a member of the XFL's Team 9, DC Defenders, and Vegas Vipers, although he only saw playing time with the Defenders.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | October 26, 1994 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.[1] |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 320 lb (145 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Callaway (Jackson, Mississippi) |
| College: | Ole Miss (2014–2017) |
| Position: | Offensive lineman |
| NFL draft: | 2018 / round: 7 / pick: 252 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Roderick Taylor was born on October 26, 1994.[2] He grew up in Jackson, Mississippi[3] and attended Callaway High School, at which he played football, basketball, and ran track.[4] He was a very highly regarded offensive lineman for the school, being ranked as high as the top guard recruit nationally by one source.[5] As a junior he was named The Clarion-Ledger All-Metro and second-team Class 5A All-State, and as a senior Taylor received numerous honors after posting over 100 pancake blocks with no sacks allowed.[4] He was an Under Armour All-American,[6] first-team All-State, MaxPreps All-American, Medium School All-American and All-Metro selection, and helped Callaway win a school-record 14 games while also earning selection to The Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen and Targeted 22 lists, the latter of which he placed first on.[4]
Taylor was the consensus top-ranked player in the state, a five-star prospect, and the 25th-best ranked player nationally according to 247Sports.[4] Although for a while it was believed that he would commit to play college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, he ended up changing to Ole Miss after coach Jeff Stoutland left.[7][8]
As a freshman at Ole Miss in 2014, Taylor appeared in all 13 games.[9] He posted his first career start on November 8 against Presbyterian, appearing as their right guard after an injury to Laremy Tunsil.[10] Taylor started one further game on the season, while earning his first varsity letter.[9]
Taylor was expected to become a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2015, but was hampered by an injury suffered in a non-football activity shortly before the season.[9][11] Despite this, he was still able to appear in 10 games, two of which he started.[9] In 2016, Taylor earned a starting role at left tackle.[12] He was limited by injuries, however, and only started seven out of 13 games, while appearing in a further two.[13][14]
After going through several injuries in the prior seasons, Taylor remained healthy as a senior in 2017 and started all 12 games at right tackle.[15] He finished his college career with 44 games played, 23 of which he started.[16] Taylor was named an honorable mention on The Clarion-Ledger's Ole Miss 2010s All-Decade team.[17]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
320 lb (145 kg) |
N/A | N/A | 5.24 s | 1.78 s | 3.03 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) | N/A | N/A | |||
| All values from the NFL Scouting Combine.[18] | ||||||||||||
Cincinnati Bengals
Taylor was one of four Ole Miss players to be invited to the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.[19] He was not a highly ranked prospect with scouts citing doubts relating to his maturity, body control, lack of length and motivation,[20][21] although he improved his draft stock with an impressive combine performance, including a 5.24 second 40-yard dash.[22][23] The majority of sources projected him to be a 7th-round draft pick or an undrafted free agent.[15] He ended up being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals, in the 7th round, with the 252nd pick of the 2018 NFL draft.[24][25][26]
However, Taylor suffered a torn ACL in training camp and ended up missing the entirety of his rookie season.[27] He was waived during the following season's training camp, on June 10, 2019.[28] While a free agent in September, he was suspended for four games by the NFL, believed to be for violating the rules on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).[29] On October 19, after the suspension ended, he received another, this time for ten games.[29] At the end of December, Taylor received an indefinite ban from the league.[30]
XFL
In 2020, Taylor was a member of Team 9, which functioned as the practice squad of the XFL.[31] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10.[32]
After then spending two years out of professional football, Taylor was signed by the DC Defenders of the XFL on January 19, 2023.[33] He made the team's final roster.[34] He was ejected from their game against the St. Louis BattleHawks after being involved in a fight, and was fined by the league for it.[35][36] After having appeared in three games for the Defenders, one as a starter,[37] he was waived; however, Taylor was claimed off waivers by the Vegas Vipers on March 13.[38] He was released on April 14, without appearing in a game.[38]
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