Davion Taylor (born August 5, 1998) American professional football linebacker for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college footballatColorado and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
| No. 45 – Ottawa Redblacks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | (1998-08-05) August 5, 1998 (age 25) McComb, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | South Pike (Magnolia, Mississippi) | ||||
| College: |
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| NFL draft: | 2020 / Round: 3 / Pick: 103 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||
Taylor was raised in Magnolia, Mississippi, by his Seventh-day Adventist mother Stephanie Taylor. Taylor attended South Pike High School but did not play high school football due to the religious beliefs of his church.[1][2]
Taylor attended Coahoma Community College before attending the University of Colorado Boulder. After turning 18 he was given permission by his mother to join the football team.[3][4] In 2018, Taylor transferred to Colorado.[5] In 2018, he started 10 of 12 games, recording 57 tackles, one sack and one touchdown.[6] As a senior in 2019, he started all 12 games, recording 72 tackles and one sack.[7]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+1⁄2 in (1.84 m) |
228 lb (103 kg) |
32+1⁄8 in (0.82 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.39 s | 1.55 s | 2.57 s | 4.26 s | 6.96 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) |
10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) |
21 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[8][9] | ||||||||||||
Taylor was drafted by the Eagles in the third round with the 103rd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.[10] He was placed on injured reserve on December 9, 2020.[11] He was designated to return from injured reserve on December 30, and began practicing with the team again,[12] but the team did not activate him before the end of the season.
Taylor took on a starting role with the team in Week 6 of the 2021 season, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 due to a knee injury.[13]
Taylor was released on August 31, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad.[14][15] On February 15, 2023, Taylor signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles.[16] On August 6, the Eagles released Taylor.[17]
On August 17, 2023, Taylor signed with the Chicago Bears.[18] He was waived on August 29, 2023.[19]
On September 26, 2023, Taylor was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.[20] He was released on October 10. On December 20, Taylor was re-signed to the Cardinals practice squad.[21] He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season, and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.[22]
Taylor signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on March 18, 2024.[23]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
| G | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | PHI | 12 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | PHI | 9 | 6 | 41 | 24 | 17 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 21 | 7 | 51 | 31 | 20 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Taylor is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[1][2]