Ryan Lawrence Taylor (born November 16, 1987) is an American former 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. 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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Taylor was selected by the

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 ...

in the seventh round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. He was also a member of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

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 ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Early life

Taylor attended

Mount Tabor High School Mount Tabor High School is a high school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the WS/FCS School System. School demographics During the 2010–2011 school year, there were 1,622 students enrolled at Mount Tabor. The racial ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, and played on all sides of the ball. During his time on the team, he was a two time all-conference selection and went 12-2 in his sophomore season, making it into the state championship. As a senior, Taylor broke the single season records with 64 receptions that went for 1,180 yards and had 13 touchdowns. On top of that, he rushed the ball 13 times for 85 yards and an additional three scores. On special teams, he returned nine kicks and 16 punts for 177 and 116 yards respectively. Coming out of high school, Taylor received scholarship offers for

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

at the University of Virginia, but turned them down to play for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

. Rivals.com ranked him as the 47th best tight end in the country and he was considered the 21st best player in the state of North Carolina; he was also a member of the state's Shrine Team.

College career

Taylor played four seasons at North Carolina and departed as a redshirt senior. His role for the Tar Heels was limited to special teams during his first year. He was one of four true freshman to see playing time. Playing special teams he had four tackles, two solo stops and two assists. He again continued to play primarily on special teams during his sophomore season. He had five tackles, and in a game against

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

recovered a blocked punt. Taylor began to have a bigger role in his junior season, and was named as a special teams captain. He played in all thirteen games and had 19 tackles, the majority of which were on special teams, but the others as a backup linebacker. During a game against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

, he played on all three sides of the ball as a Tight End, Linebacker, and on special teams. In 2009, he was redshirted after injuring his knee in camp. In his final year with the Tar heels, he again played on all the sides of the ball and was the special teams captain for the second time in his career. After the loss of starting tight end Zack Pianalto, he took over as the starter and went on to break the school record for receptions as a tight end with 36, two of those for touchdowns.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Taylor was considered to be a possible H-back candidate in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. Scouts stated that he had "solid hands" and "snatches low and high throws with equal aplomb". They also stated that he was quick on his routes and could separate linebackers from the inside or outside. For his negatives they stated that he only had "average" size for his position and did not possess the strength to be an inside linebacker. They also stated that he could not separate with the speed of NFL linebackers.

Green Bay Packers

Taylor was selected in the seventh round (218th overall) by the

in the

. On July 29, 2011, he signed a contract with the Packers. On December 14, 2011, Taylor caught his first reception and touchdown as a professional, against the

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 ...

. The catch was a four-yard completion from

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 ...

. On October 6, 2014, he was waived by the Packers.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 7, 2014, Taylor was claimed off waivers by the

. He was inactive for weeks 6 and 7 and did not play in any games during his tenure with the Ravens. On October 25, 2014, he was waived by Ravens.

Cleveland Browns

Taylor was claimed off waivers by the

on October 27, 2014. On December 27, 2014, he was released by the Browns.

Miami Dolphins

The

signed Taylor on February 10, 2015. On May 11, 2015, Taylor was released to make room for the signing of TE Tim Semisch.

Kansas City Chiefs

Taylor signed with the

in May 2015. On September 5, 2015, the Chiefs cut Taylor.Chiefs trade McCray to Seahawks while trimming roster
www.usatoday.com, Retrieved September 7, 2015

Career stats

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Ryan 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina American football tight ends North Carolina Tar Heels football players Green Bay Packers players Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players Kansas City Chiefs players