Taylor Decker

Taylor Decker
No. 68 – Detroit Lions
Position: Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1993-08-23) August 23, 1993
Vandalia, Ohio
Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight: 311 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school: Vandalia (OH) Butler
College: Ohio State
NFL Draft: 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2017
Games played: 24
Games started: 24
Player stats at NFL.com

Taylor Decker (born August 23, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State.

Early years

Decker attended Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio. He was a three-year starter for the football team at the left tackle position. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the 23rd best offensive tackle in his class.[1] He originally committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football but changed to Ohio State University.[2] In addition to football, Decker played basketball in high school.[3]

College career

Decker played in all 12 games as a true freshman in the 2012 season. He played mostly special teams, but played 22 snaps on offense. Decker took over as a starter his sophomore season in the 2013 season, starting all 14 games at the right tackle position.[4] Decker moved from right tackle to left tackle his junior year in 2014 and was the Buckeyes only returning starter on the offensive line.[5][6] He started all 15 games, including the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Oregon.[7][8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP
6 ft 7 in
(2.01 m)
310 lb
(141 kg)
33 34 in
(0.86 m)
10 in
(0.25 m)
5.23 s 1.81 s 3.02 s 4.76 s 7.70 s 29 in
(0.74 m)
8 ft 5 in
(2.57 m)
22 reps
All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day[9]

Decker was drafted in the first round with the 16th overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2016 NFL draft.[10]

On May 6, 2016, the Detroit Lions signed Decker to a fully guaranteed four-year, $10.96 million contract with a signing bonus of $6.17 million.[11] Decker started all 16 games at the left tackle position in his rookie season and was the only player besides quarterback Matthew Stafford to play every snap on offense for the Lions. Decker was named the Lions Rookie of the Year for 2016 in voting by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

On June 6, 2017, it was revealed that Decker had undergone shoulder surgery, and was ruled out for four to six months.[12] He was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the 2017 season.[13] He was activated off PUP on November 11, 2017,[14] and started the final eight games of the season at left tackle.

References

  1. "Taylor Decker".
  2. "Vandalia Butler tackle Decker commits to OSU".
  3. "Notre Dame basketball: Basketball helped Irish line recruit Decker". schurz-southbendtribune.
  4. "No. 19, Taylor Decker: Ranking the best Ohio State Buckeyes of 2013". cleveland.com.
  5. Bill Rabinowitz. "Ohio State football: Taylor Decker grabs leadership role". Buckeye Xtra Sports.
  6. "New guys, same attitude: Coach Ed Warinner, returning starter Taylor Decker must retain Ohio State's offensive line warrior culture". cleveland.com.
  7. "Ohio State football: OT Taylor Decker's story told through his tattoos – 'Nobody wants to be average'". cleveland.com.
  8. "Taylor Decker's return crucial for Ohio State Buckeyes in 2015 – Big Ten Blog- ESPN". ESPN.com.
  9. "Taylor Decker – Ohio State, OT : 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile".
  10. Twentyman, Tim (April 29, 2016). "Detroit Lions draft tackle Taylor Decker". Detroit Lions. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  11. "Breaking down Taylor Decker's 10.9 million rookie contract". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  12. Patra, Kevin. "Taylor Decker undergoes shoulder surgery". NFL. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  13. "Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017.
  14. "Lions activate T Taylor Decker and T Corey Robinson". DetroitLions.com. November 11, 2017.
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