Roc Taylor, WR, Memphis
Size:
Height: 6017
Weight: 213
Arm: 32 ¼”
Hand: 9”
Accomplishments:
Second-Team All-AAC (2023)
“Roc Taylor has an uncanny ability to track the football seamlessly over his shoulder while making catches through contact look effortless.”
Strengths:
Tough catches
Catch radius
Ball tracking
Vertical sell
Concerns:
Re-routed by contact
“Clap” catcher
Yards after the catch
Film Analysis:
Roc Taylor played his high school football at Oxford High School in Oxford, Alabama, where he earned a three-star recruit ranking. During his senior year, he recorded 52 receptions for 1,014 yards and 17 touchdowns and signed with Memphis over Tennessee on national signing day. Taylor was an ancillary piece for the first two seasons of his career before breaking out as a junior and being a consistent force for the Tigers over his last two seasons. He recorded 129 receptions for 2,033 yards and six touchdowns over the last two seasons of his collegiate career.
A true “X” receiver on the outside, Taylor could use a few more release tools. However, he reads leverage well, and against soft press, he moves defenders out of his way with quick feet to get into his stem. He’s re-routed by physicality in the release and stem too often and needs to use his hands to fight through contact. When he gets to the stem, he sells vertically well and uses small footwork manipulation tools to make defensive backs hesitate to create space for himself. When faced with off coverage, Taylor tends to tip his routes, giving corners an easy read to break at the top of the route. If he attacks defenders' feet more frequently, he’ll force more hesitation and continue to create space for himself.
At the top of routes, Taylor does a nice job of decelerating, sinking his hips, and getting around for the quarterback. He runs various routes and can find soft spots over the middle of the defense against zone; he is quick to become available and time his stop appropriately for the quarterback to find him. He lacks explosiveness out of his breaks, and if there isn’t much separation at the top of in-breakers, corners can hang in his hip pocket to make plays on the football. However, Taylor isn’t bothered by physicality at the catch point and tracks the football as if no one is around to make tough, contested catches at all levels of the field. His deep field speed is fine, but he won’t pull away from corners on “go” routes, and that’s where his ball tracking, body control, and adjustments to the football take over so he can be a three-level threat.
Taylor needs to improve his catching technique because he’s more of a “clap” catcher with his hands too far apart and the ball travels into his chest frequently. After the catch, Taylor is a physical presence, but he lacks the explosiveness and quick twitch to make defenders miss and create more yards.
Taylor has more nuance than I expected in the stem, and the tough catches he makes look routine, bode well for him. He has enough tools to make an NFL roster but needs to improve his hand usage through the stem and catch technique to consistently make an impact at the next level.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Developmental Traits
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Rice (2024), Tulane (2024), Navy (2024), West Virginia (2024)
