Browns wouldn't have picked him if he had major injury issues... We have to trust the doctors so therefore let's throw the those issues out..
Cleveland Browns' top draft pick, Phil Taylor, grateful for second chance to impress at Baylor
Updated: Thursday, April 28, 2011, 11:30 PM
Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer By Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer
BEREA, Ohio -- Phil Taylor got a fresh start after being kicked off the Penn State football team, and worked his way all the way up to the No. 21 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
"I was young, I made a mistake and I moved on from it," the Baylor defensive tackle said on a conference call after being the Browns' first-round pick Thursday night. "I went down to Baylor and made the best of a second chance and I'm happy to be here right now."
Taylor said negative medical reports about his feet leading up to the draft "were all just rumors, that's all it was."
He said, "I can stop and the run and I can give you a great pass rush as well."
Taylor, a massive nose tackle at 6-3 1/2, 337 pounds, had two off-the-field incidents at Penn State in 2007 and 2008 and was kicked off the team by coach Joe Paterno. He was involved in an on-campus fight in 2007 and then charged with assault in 2008 -- charges that were later dismissed.
Taylor transferred to Baylor and had to sit out the 2008 season under NCAA rules. But he became a new man with the Bears and impressed NFL scouts and coaches with his size and explosiveness off the ball. Taylor's 2009 season wasn't what Baylor coaches were hoping for because of turf toe, but he came on strong in 2010.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. writes of Taylor in his draft book, "He showed he can be a disruptive force along the interior of the defensive line. Taylor is a massive tackle who can throw around the center or guards like they're rag dolls. He's tremendously powerful and strong and is a great run-stuffing defensive tackle, showing excellent stoutness at the point of attack.
"In fact, Taylor is arguably the best pure nosetackle in this draft...an immovable object along the interior."
Taylor started 22 of 25 games at Baylor, nine at strong-side defensive tackle and 13 at nose guard. He recorded 87 tackles, 2.5 sacks for minus-18 yards, 9.5 stops for loss, eight pressures and one forced fumble and two blocked kicks.
Taylor's father, Phil Sr. explained to the Philadelphia Inquirer why his son went astray at Penn State.
"When you get a whole lot of buddies that have been playing high school all together for four years and then come up to Penn State, you're going to get in trouble," Taylor Sr. said. "So they're running all together and they're acting crazy."
Taylor, who was also humbled by a trip to Kenya where he helped out the poor, said he tried to make the most of his year off in 2008.
"I worked on the scout team and did morning workouts with the freshman team," he told the Inquirer. "It was humbling. But you just can't come in as a transfer and just think you've got it made. You have to earn it."
Taylor weighed about 385 pounds when he arrived at Baylor, but trimmed down for his senior season and it made all the difference. He made 45 tackles, seven for losses and was named second-team all-Big 12.
His dad added, "I think for Phil, getting away from everybody changed everything. He went down to Baylor, a Christian school, and had no incidents for three years. He was at Penn State for -- what, two years? -- and had two incidents."
NFL Network's Mike Mayock said of Taylor, "He's an inconsistent player like a lot of defensive linemen coming out of college football when they're 300-plus pounds. They don't play hard every snap, but he flashes. He's a big, strong kid that flashes."
