STILLWATER – No. 61 in the safeties group of the defensive backs on day two of the NFL Scouting Combine stepped up to the start with his brand new Nikes on and proceeded to run a very respectable 4.5 in the forty.
Oklahoma State’s Jason Taylor II was first-team All-Big 12 this season and was also named on some All-American teams as he should have been with six interceptions this season giving him eight in Oklahoma State career along with some spectacular fumble recoveries and an onside kick recovered and returned for a touchdown in the 2020 win over Texas Tech. Taylor is a ball hawker and the NFL knows it.
He was fifth overall with a 43-inch vertical jump (best was 44-inches) and he was also strong with a 10-feet-9-inch broad jump (best was 11-feet-9-inches). He measured just under six-feet at 5-11 and 5/8ths and weighed 204-pounds. He had 32-inch arms and a 10-inch hand measurement.
Taylor II was really good on the drills. It is not the most important drill, in fact, it is the last drills the defensive backs safeties group did, but the “guantlett is popular as they run across the field on the line catching balls thrown at them from each side. Taylor was spotless. He looked almost effortless in smoothly catching every ball. He has excellent hands and he never dropped a ball thrown at him the entire workout.
On the flip drill he flipped his hips the way you are supposed to and never broke stride making an easy catch and going on a very close to perfect straight line. On the second rep on the drill he had to adjust to the football at the end but did it very smooth.
On the back pedal and transition drill he was was smooth in his back pedal, no stumble like some of the other prospects and he did have to leave his feet at the end but made the catch. On the deeper version of the drill he was more impressive as NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen, said “Track that ball, that’s the way you do it.”
He really did a good job of tracking that throw from Carson Strong a long way and made the catch with his feet inbounds before going out on the boundary. He handled all the drills as smooth as he always did drills on the practice field outside the Sherman Smith Training Center from the W drill, which Oklahoma State does a lot to the back pedal and 90 degree break. They also did two Teryl Austin drills, which Taylor II handled without as much as a stumble or misstep.
Another plus is the NFL Network showed every one of his reps in each drill. That may mean that they were clued in that he was important to show.
Scouting Overview from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com
Taylor offers well-defined strengths and obvious areas of concern that should allow for teams to deploy him in the best manner possible if they are honest in their assessments. He boasts an NFL frame and is a powerful tackler who can stop rushers and pass-catchers in their tracks. Though his speed and agility are below par, he’s highly instinctive and possesses the skills to make plays on the ball as a deep safety. Figuring out when to play him low and when to play him high will be the challenge for defensive coordinators, but even as a backup, he brings four-phase special teams talent to the table immediately.
Strengths and weaknesses According to NFL Scouts:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Thick frame and long arms | Doesn’t have foot quickness for dynamic movements |
| Has a history of making big plays in big moments | Mental mistakes lead to easy touchdowns |
| Brings legitimate stopping power as a tackler | Missing top-end speed and recovery burst |
| Can function like a linebacker when he walks into the box | Lacks leverage and GPS in pursuit angles to find runners |
| Instinctive to get early jumps over the top from high safety | Sits down to tackle too early, giving runner breakaway opportunity |
| Tracks the deep ball like an outfielder to make plays | Saw a high number of missed tackles in the open field in 2022 |
| Pulled in eight career interceptions, including six in 2022 |
That completes the Cowboys that are competing in the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. It appears that both Jason Taylor II and Tyler Lacy left the bench press to do at home on March 23 at the Oklahoma State Pro Day. There are a number of other Cowboys expected to participate in the Pro Day on the Oklahoma State campus.
