Jawaan Taylor
Atlanta FalconsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 12 games
Draft & College
He lasted longer than consensus.
Comps
STM Take
From tier 1 (#6) Jacksonville 2022 to tier 8 (#66, #61) in the first two Chiefs years to tier 4 (#32) in 2025 captures the arc of a contract bet that initially looked like a disaster. The 2025 rebound is meaningful but the absolute floor (tier 4) is below where the $80M contract projected. At 28 with the contract through 2027, the 2026 trajectory will determine whether Kansas City picks up the option or eats dead money.
Taylor came out of Florida as Jacksonville's 2nd-round pick (35th overall) in 2019. His Jacksonville tenure produced a tier 1 (#6) finish in 2022 and a Pro Bowl appearance. Kansas City signed him to a 4-year, $80M deal in March 2023 to be the long-term right tackle solution. His Chiefs tenure has been controversial: two consecutive tier 8 finishes (#66 in 2023, #61 in 2024) plus widespread complaints about false-start penalties before the 2025 tier 4 (#32) rebound suggests technical corrections are arriving.
Strengths
- 2022 Jacksonville tier 1 (#6) finish plus the Pro Bowl appearance confirms the ceiling profile is real. 2nd-round draft pedigree from Florida.
- 2025 STTM jump from #61 to #32 is real year-over-year improvement; the technique corrections that the Chiefs OL staff worked on are visibly producing results.
Concerns
- Two straight tier 8 finishes (#66, #61) in his first two Chiefs seasons plus widely-reported false-start penalty issues created real performance concerns the contract did not anticipate.
- $80M contract through 2027 with only one tier 4 season to show creates cap pressure if the 2026 production doesn't continue climbing.
What to watch: Whether Taylor's 2026 finish climbs to tier 3 (#22 or better) or whether the tier 4 finish becomes the structural ceiling that compresses the contract value.