Darryl Anthony Tapp (born September 13, 1984) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who is the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

coach for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

and was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in the second round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. Tapp also played for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

before entering coaching in 2018.

Early life

Tapp attended Deep Creek High School in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

where he lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. His senior year, Tapp set a school record with 15 sacks and made 89 tackles and was named Second-team All-State. In all, he recorded 22 career sacks while helping Deep Creek to a 34–4 record during his three varsity seasons. He was one of just three juniors to start on offense and defense for Deep Creek in 2000 when he played in all 14 games and posted eight quarterback sacks and earned First-team All-District.

College career

Tapp played as a freshman in 2002 at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, mostly on special teams. Against

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, he returned a punt blocked by Justin Hamilton for a touchdown and for Tapp's first collegiate score. On the season, he recorded nine solo tackles and 12 assists, three quarterback hurries and a pass broken up. Tapp set a position record for defensive ends with a 660-pound back squat during the spring. He also had a 415-pound bench press and a 340-pound push jerk, a 530-pound back squat, a vertical jump and a 4.71 s time in the forty-yard dash. In 2003, he compiled 58 total tackles—nine tackles for loss, including three sacks and 17 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. In 2004, Tapp won the starting job, taking over for Nathaniel Adibi as the boundary defensive end and started all 13 games, registered 60 tackles were 16.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks and had 23 quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, a pass break up, an interception and a blocked kick as was named First-team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. During his senior year in 2005, he started all thirteen games make 48 tackles (14.5 for losses) and 10 sacks and as first-team All-ACC again. He was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Tapp was selected by the

in the second round (63rd overall) of the

. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

, Tapp was a

special teamer In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and part of the Seahawks' defensive end rotation. He recorded 33 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, one interception, and one defensive touchdown. In 2007, he saw a lot more playing time, as the Seahawks' former starting left end

Grant Wistrom Grant Alden Wistrom (born July 3, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. Wistrom played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and was a t ...

was cut from the team, and the right end Bryce Fisher was traded to the Titans. As a result, he started all 16 games for the Seahawks with new arrival Patrick Kerney as the other defensive end. In 2007, Tapp made 49 tackles, seven sacks, and one interception. On October 21, 2007, Tapp had four sacks and forced a fumble against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, a personal best. Two weeks after, Tapp had an interception against

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Derek Anderson. On December 25, 2009,

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

accused Tapp of biting him on his left arm in their matchup in the 2008 season.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 16, 2010, the Seahawks traded Tapp to the

in exchange for Chris Clemons and a fourth-round draft pick in 2010. Tapp was signed by the Eagles to a three-year contract after passing his physical on March 18. On September 26, 2010, Tapp recorded his first sack as an Eagle, bringing down

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

David Garrard David Douglas Garrard (born February 14, 1978) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates and was selected b ...

. On January 9, 2011, Tapp recorded his first-career postseason sack, bringing down

Washington Redskins

On March 28, 2013, Tapp signed a one-year deal with the

. On September 29, 2013, Tapp recorded his first sack as a member of the Redskins, tackling

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Matt Flynn Matt or Matthew Flynn may refer to: * Matt Flynn (American football) (born 1985), American football player * Matt Flynn (Australian footballer) (born 1997), Australian rules footballer * Matt Flynn (politician) (born 1947), American politician * ...

Detroit Lions

On March 13, 2014, Tapp signed a one-year contract with the

. Tapp was released on August 30, 2014, from the Lions. On March 2, 2015, the Lions re-signed Tapp to a one-year contract. In 2015, Tapp earned the Detroit Lions-Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association-Pro Football Writers Association (Detroit Chapter) Media-Friendly Good Guy Award.

New Orleans Saints

On July 6, 2016, Tapp was signed to the

. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Saints but re-signed on September 5, 2016. He re-signed with the Saints on March 23, 2017. He was released on September 5, 2017, re-signed later that month before being released again.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 25, 2017, Tapp signed with the

. He was released by the Buccaneers on November 28, 2017.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

On December 13, 2019, Tapp returned to Virginia Tech as a co-defensive line coach. He joined the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

as an assistant defensive line coach on February 11, 2021. Tapp was hired as the defensive line coach of the

on February 15, 2024.

Personal life

Tapp has been long-time friends with former NFL defensive back DeAngelo Hall since childhood, the two having gone to the same school from elementary school throughout college and being teammates.

References

External links

Washington Commanders profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapp, Darryl 1984 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen African-American Christians African-American coaches of American football American football defensive ends Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Coaches of American football from Virginia Detroit Lions players Living people New Orleans Saints players Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Chesapeake, Virginia Players of American football from Portsmouth, Virginia San Francisco 49ers coaches Seattle Seahawks players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football players Washington Commanders coaches Washington Redskins players Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches