2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Devin Taylor, CB, Illinois State University
I love watching film on long corners. Ever since my days of breaking down film of Pierre Desir at Lindenwood there is something about long armed corners that perk my interests. I was watching some film on Illinois State and I was blown away with a long corner on their roster. His name is Devin Taylor.
Taylor, a 6010 cornerback plays the game like Richard Sherman. He is aggressive, he has speed and he is one of the best small school cornerbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft.
He was born in Lansing, Michigan and has recently been working out in Miami. I watched a video of Taylor the other day getting love from Antonio Brown. Taylor is a great player and maybe the best small school corner out there.
He was a three year letterwinner at Sexton High SChool, and won the State Championship as part of the 4×100 meter relay team as a senior. So he is FAST!
He came to the Redbirds as a Freshman and did not play in 2016, redshirting. In 2017 however, he did play in 9 games a special teamer. He finished the season with just two tackles but did pick a pass off against South Dakota State.
In 2018, Devin Taylor had a break out season. He started all 11 games at cornerback and was first in the conference in pass break ups with 15. He had 12 break ups and 3 interceptions. He was sixth in the FCS with 1.4 pass defender per game. Taylor only somehow won 2nd team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Last year, Taylor continued to dominate. He started 15 games for the Redbirds and led the conference again in pass break-ups. He finished the year with 1.6 pass break ups per game. He was one pass break up shy set by Sam Young back in 1999, with 24. Quarterbacks do not like to throw it towards Taylor and that makes sense. They need to learn to stay away from him because he is a machine.
NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Notes:
If you want a cornerback who is in your face and will contest a wide receiver every play, then you want Devin Taylor. Taylor is not afraid of opposing wide receivers and has proven to be a shut down cornerback in the MVFC. I would not be shocked if his stock flies with another big season. – Damond Talbot, Owner, NFL Draft Diamonds
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com