Florida Gators in the NFL: Fred Was Taylor Made for Canton
Fred Taylor was one of the most electric football players I’ve ever seen. In high school at Glades Central, in college at Florida, and in the National Football League mostly with Jacksonville, every time he touched the ball, you held your breath knowing something spectacular could happen.
I’ve watched Fred play a lot of football. We both went to high school in Palm Beach County and attended the University of Florida in the 1990s. Taylor arrived in Gainesville as the top high school running back recruit in the state and one of Steve Spurrier’s highest-ranked recruits ever. And Taylor wasted no time establishing himself as one of the best players in Gators history.
He was Florida’s leading rusher as a freshman in 1994, scoring eight touchdowns with 1,144 scrimmage yards despite an almost even split in playing time with Elijah Williams.
Taylor’s Florida teams won the SEC three times and of course the school’s first-ever National Championship in January of 1997. Fred scored an iconic touchdown early in the title game, stretching to break the goal line as captured by this fantastic Associated Press photo.
Taylor had a tendency to rely a little too much on his speed and elusiveness early in his Florida career, but Spurrier and his coaches got him to trust his strength and power, eventually transforming into a physical runner with low pad level who plowed through defenders as often as he ran by them. He doesn’t become the menace he was in the NFL without that development.
Gator Nation will never forget Mick Hubert’s calls of “Taylor Made” and “Run Fred Run” throughout Taylor’s phenomenal career. After three years of splitting carries with Williams and Terry Jackson - and battling injuries and off-field mistakes - Taylor became the bell cow back in his senior season he was always destined to be, rushing for 1,292 yards and 13 TDs. I’ll put that individual season up against any I’ve ever seen from a Gator outside of Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel’s Heisman years. Fred was unstoppable.
His final regular season game was his greatest as a Gator. It also happens to be maybe the best game ever played at the Swamp and certainly the loudest I’ve ever heard the place. The game is remembered for Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise rotating almost every play and Jacquez Green “behind the defense”, but it was THE FRED TAYLOR GAME. He destroyed undefeated Florida State, running for 162 yards and four touchdowns including the game winner that knocked FSU out of the BCS championship game.
This week, Taylor was announced as one of the 25 modern-era semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. It’s the fifth straight year Taylor has been a semifinalist, but he’s yet to make the cutdown to Finalist.
Outside of the no-brainer first-ballot inductees - guys like Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Peyton Manning, Jerry Rice - Canton enshrinement for most players is a long, grueling process. There are only 371 total members of the Hall among the hundreds of thousands who have played and coached. While both the Pro Football Hall and the Baseball Hall have long lists of deserving players who have not been enshrined yet, the list waiting to get into Canton is much deeper.
The Pro Football Hall’s selection process is much more complicated than any other Hall’s. I’ll spare you the details but just know that even though this is Taylor’s fifth straight time making the first cutdown from 120-130 nominees to 25, he has yet to make the next cutdown to 15 and likely won’t again this year. There are two first-ballot guys - Antonio Gates and Julius Peppers - that are likely going to be inducted. Then there are eight players who were finalists last year also on this year’s list. That’s ten former players likely ahead of Taylor and a maximum of only five modern-era members will be included in the Class of 2024. It’ll be damn near impossible for Fred!
Defenders of the system will tell you it should be that difficult. The common comeback to allowing more players in is “it’s the Hall of greats, not the Hall of very good.” So what was Fred Taylor - very good or great?
With the exception of undeniable legends Barry, Emmitt, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Adrian Peterson, I don’t believe there was a better running back over the past 30 years than Taylor.
He is the 17th-leading rusher in NFL history with 11,695 yards. Every single player ahead of him is in the Hall or will be once eligible. There are 18 running backs in Canton among the all-time top 250 rushers with fewer yards than Taylor - most substantially fewer.
Taylor averaged 4.6 yards per carry. The only running backs in the history of the game to average at least 4.6 and have over 10,000 career rushing yards are Sanders, Peterson, Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, and Tiki Barber.
Taylor is tied for 13th all-time with seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He’s tied for sixth all-time with eight touchdown runs of at least 50 yards - and he had a handful more via reception.
Taylor only fumbled 27 times in his career, tied for the fourth fewest fumbles by anybody with at least 10,000 rushing yards.
The main argument against Taylor is his lack of awards. He made one Pro Bowl, earned one second-team All Pro, and finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Moss and Manning in 1998. No MVPs, no Offensive Players of the Year, and no Super Bowls.
To that I call B.S. Taylor deserved more than the one All Pro and Pro Bowl. He rushed for over 4,000 yards between 2002 and 2004 and didn’t make a single team. Jerome Bettis made the Pro Bowl in ‘04 with 941 yards, while Taylor had 1,224 and did not. Curtis Martin made five Pro Bowls in his Hall of Fame career. He was a great player, but can you tell me he was better than Fred?
As for the postseason, the Jags had just five winning seasons and four playoff appearance in Taylor’s 11 seasons with them. He played in seven playoff games with Jacksonville, rushed for 612 yards, averaged 4.8 yards per carry, and scored four touchdowns. Is Jacksonville’s lack of team success Taylor’s fault? Taylor played his final two seasons in New England in 2009 and 2010, unfortunate timing to match up with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady during their only championship drought.
Besides his outstanding raw numbers, I go back to the very first sentence I wrote. Fred Taylor was one of the most electric football players I’ve ever seen. He aced the eye test. There wasn’t a more feared running back of his generation.
If I haven’t done enough to convince you, how about listening to one of the greatest linebackers ever who played against Fred many times and one of the greatest receivers ever who was in Fred’s ‘98 draft class.
Only two Florida Gators are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Emmitt and defensive end Jack Youngblood. Taylor should be the third. I don’t think it will be this year, but I hope he doesn’t have to wait much longer to take his place among the Greats and don that Gold Jacket.
BEST PLAYER OF WEEK 12
Brandon Powell again shined on Monday night, hauling in all three targets for 45 yards and returning a punt for 15 yards. His first catch was a ridiculous diving grab along the sideline.
Powell has set career-highs in receptions, receiving yards, and scrimmage yards already this season, but unfortunately, Justin Jefferson’s return after this week’s bye means Powell’s production is about to fall dramatically. He’ll be no better than the fourth passing option the rest of the season behind Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson.
Regardless of how the rest of the year goes, Powell has shown he’s a playmaker when given the chance - just like he did with the Rams after Cooper Kupp went down last year.
BEST PLAY OF WEEK 12
Kyle Trask came in on Sunday after Baker Mayfield was hurt on a quarterback sneak attempt. Before the first play with Trask under center, a Bucs lineman false started. The next play was a run for two yards. On third down, Trask made a check at the line and then threw an absolute dime for what should have been his first touchdown pass in the NFL.
I’d be surprised if Trask doesn’t get a start and full game before the end of the season to show if he can play in the league.
GAME TO WATCH IN WEEK 13
Lions at Saints, Sunday, 1:00pm ET
I’m looking forward to watching Alex Anzalone and Marcus Maye in this one. When healthy and at their best, they’ve been two of the best former Gators in the NFL the past seven seasons.
Both were recruited to Gainesville by Will Muschamp - Maye in 2012, Anzalone in 2013. Maye redshirted his first season and then played together with Anzalone from 2013 through 2016 - the final two seasons under Jim McElwain.
Since entering the NFL in 2017 - Maye was drafted in the second round, Anzalone in the third - they have had remarkably similar careers. Anzalone has 413 tackles in 80 career games. Maye has 409 tackles in 77 career games. Maye has eight interceptions and four and a half sacks. Anzalone has three picks and nine and a half quarterback takedowns.
Both players have only played three full seasons, missing time with a wide assortment of ailments. Maye was a borderline Pro Bowler at his peak in New York. Anzalone could make the Pro Bowl this season.
Both are playing well right now and will definitely factor into which team wins on Sunday.
RANKING WEEK 12 PERFORMANCES
1 - Brandon Powell, WR/PR, Minnesota Vikings
Week 12: 3 rec (3 targets), 45 yards, 1 rush, 2 yards, 1 PR, 15.0 avg, 36 snaps (65%)
Season: 25 rec, 269 yards, TD, 5 rush, 17 yards, 24 PR, 8.2 avg
2 - Marcus Maye, S, New Orleans Saints
Week 12: 8 tackles, 2 TFL, 62 snaps (100%)
Season: 2 INT, 1.0 sack, 37 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 PD
3 - Zach Carter, DT, Cincinnati Bengals
Week 12: 4 tackles, 1 FF, 37 snaps (52%), 5 ST snaps (21%)
Season: 14 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 1 QB hit, 1 PD
Everyone has seen the highlight of Carter’s forced fumble, but no one noticed anything about the play except Diontae Johnson. Props to Zach for creating a legendary meme.
4 - Trent Brown, LT, New England Patriots
Week 12: 52 snaps (76%)
Season: 8 G, 483 snaps
Brown was Pro Football Focus’s highest graded offensive tackle this week. He didn’t start with his ankle injury but came in and played at a high level despite the knock.
5 - Dante Fowler, Jr., OLB, Dallas Cowboys
Week 12: 0.5 sack, 1 tackle, 1 QB hit, 25 snaps (32%)
Season: 2.5 sacks, 8 tackles, 3 TFL, 5 QB hits, 3 PD, 1 FF
6 - Alex Anzalone, LB, Detroit Lions
Week 12: 6 tackles,, 1 QB hit, 54 snaps (96%)
Season: 3.0 sacks, 87 tackles, 5 TFL, 9 QB hits, 5 PD, 1 FR
7 - Jonathan Greenard, EDGE, Houston Texans
Week 12: 2 tackles, 1 QB hit, 46 snaps (61%)
Season: 7.0 sacks, 36 tackles, 11 TFL, 15 QB hits, 1 PD
8 - O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Buffalo Bills
Week 12: 95 snaps (100%)
Season: 12 G, 817 snaps (100%)
Torrence should get an assist for Josh Allen’s rushing touchdown.
9 - Gervon Dexter, Sr., DT, Chicago Bears
Week 12: 1 tackle, 1 QB hit, 20 snaps (36%)
Season: 12 tackles, 7 QB hits, 2 PD
Dexter flashed on just about every snap he took Monday night. His strength and explosion were really evident on a couple plays. The first was a questionable roughing the passer call. The second was a near miss of Josh Dobbs for what would have been his first professional sack. Once he learns how to finish consistently, watch out. He has four QB hits in the past three games so that first sack is coming.
10 - Eddy Piñeiro, K, Carolina Panthers
Week 12: 1/1 FG, Long 50, 1/1 XP
Season: 18/21 FG, Long 56, 15/16 XP
11 - Evan McPherson, K, Cincinnati Bengals
Week 12: 1/1 FG, Long 47, 1/1 XP
Season: 17/21 FG, Long 56, 23/23 XP
12 - Kyle Pitts. TE, Atlanta Falcons
Week 12: 2 rec (2 targets), 22 yards, 31 snaps (50%)
Season: 37 rec (60 targets), 441 yards, TD, 1 rush, -4 yards
13 - Demarcus Robinson, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Week 12: 2 rec (2 targets), 13 yards, 40 snaps (60%), 15 ST snaps (54%)
Season: 5 rec, 52 yards, 1 KR, 20.0 avg
Three straight games with a catch for D-Rob after not having a single target in his first eight games in L.A.
14 - Jonathan Bullard, DL, Minnesota Vikings
Week 12: 3 tackles, 43 snaps (61%)
Season: 1.0 sack, 35 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 1 QB hit
15 - T.J. Slaton, NT, Green Bay Packers
Week 12: 3 tackles, 51 snaps (61%), 7 ST snaps (30%)
Season: 36 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PD
16 - Tommy Townsend, P, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 12: 4 punts, 52.8 avg, 49.5 net
Season: 39 punts, 47.8 avg, 41.9 net
17 - D.J. Humphries, LT, Arizona Cardinals
Week 12: 71 snaps (100%)
Season: 11 G, 668 snaps
18 - Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston Texans
Week 12: 5 rush, 14 yards, 1 rec (1 target), 4 yards, 11 snaps (18%)
Season: 114 rush, 341 yards, TD, 10 rec (13 targets), 88 yards
19 - Van Jefferson, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Week 12: 1 rec (2 targets), 13 yards, 22 snaps (35%)
Season: 14 rec (31 targets), 164 yards, 1 rush, 4 yards
20 - Jawaan Taylor, RT, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 12: 60 snaps (100%)
Season: 11 G, 729 snaps
21 - Taven Bryan, DT, Indianapolis Colts
Week 12: 1 tackle, 20 snaps (33%)
Season: 2.0 sacks, 17 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 FF
22 - Kyle Trask, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 12: 0/1 passing
Season: 2 G, 0/1 passing, 1 rush, -1 yard
23 - Stone Forsythe, OT, Seattle Seahawks
Week 12: 40 snaps (71%), 4 ST snaps (14%)
Season: 11 G, 418 OFF snaps, 52 ST snaps
24 - Max Garcia, C, New Orleans Saints
Week 12: 4 snaps (6%), 6 ST snaps (25%)
Season: 11 G, 273 DEF snaps, 49 ST snaps
25 - La’mical Perine, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 12: 1 snap (2%), 10 ST snaps (38%)
Season: 2 G, 1 rush, 1 yard
26 - Mohamoud Diabate, LB, Cleveland Browns
Week 12: 19 ST snaps (73%)
Season: 5 tackles
27 - Marco Wilson, CB, Arizona Cardinals
Week 12: 11 ST snaps (39%)
Season: 52 tackles, 4 PD
After too many poor performances to count, Wilson was officially benched by Arizona and only saw action on special teams.
28 - Fred Johnson, OT, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12: 5 ST snaps (14%)
Season: 11 G, 55 ST snaps
29 - Brenton Cox, Jr., OLB, Green Bay Packers
Week 12: 4 ST snaps (17%)
Season: 4 G, 4 DEF snaps, 9 ST snaps
30 - David Sharpe, OT, Carolina Panthers
Week 12: 2 ST snaps (8%)
Season: 4 G, 13 ST snaps
INACTIVE
Kadarius Toney, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Inactive - Knee/Ankle
Season: 22 rec, 139 yards, TD, 8 rush, 9 yards, 6 PR, 9.7 avg
C.J. Henderson, CB, Carolina Panthers
Inactive - Concussion
Season: 35 tackles, 1 sack, 2 PD, 3 TFL, 1 QB hit
Amari Burney, LB, Las Vegas Raiders
Inactive
Season: 3 G, 13 tackles
PRACTICE SQUAD
Malik Davis, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Freddie Swain, WR, Miami Dolphins
Tyrie Cleveland, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Trey Dean III, S, New York Jets
Jeff Driskel, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Richard Gouraige, OT, Buffalo Bills
Jeremiah Moon, OLB, Baltimore Ravens
INJURED RESERVE
Keanu Neal, S, Pittsburgh Steelers
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, DB, Detroit Lions
Kaiir Elam, CB, Buffalo Bills
James Houston IV, EDGE, Detroit Lions
Justin Shorter, WR, Buffalo Bills
Jarrad Davis, LB, New York Giants
Ventrell Miller, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars