Washington Redskins 2013 NFL Draft Profile: Bruce Taylor

ILB, Va Tech, 6-1, 237 lbs.

Projected Round: 4-6

Why he would be a good Redskin
Because he grew up a Redskin fan. Given the team’s record during those years, that may not reflect well on his sanity, but who wants a sane linebacker anyway? In the later rounds, he’d be an interesting understudy for London Fletcher — who wasn’t drafted at all himself.

Why he won’t be drafted by the Redskins
Assuming Fletcher comes back next season, the Redskins aren’t especially needy at the inside linebacker position with Perry Riley and Keenan Robinson already in the fold. Which isn’t to say there’s no need at all there. But as desperate as things look at corner, safety and right tackle the Redskins might have to spend every one of their picks on those three positions just in hopes of landing one or two starters.

Bottom Line: (final comments)
Taylor is strong and smart. He’s also a playmaker, given that 10.5 of his 76 tackles last season were for negative yardage. His speed is so-so, or at least it was in his senior season after suffering a foot injury a year earlier. If he’s fully recovered, Taylor could be a late-round steal we could utilize on special teams while he spends a year being mentored by Fletcher.

Via Taylor's NFL Draft scout profile:

Virginia Tech's Bruce Taylor enjoyed a fine career but he never took the next stop that seemed possible after a breakout 2010 campaign in which he posted 91 tackles, including 15.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. His junior campaign started off well but a Lisfranc injury robbed him of the final four games and while the physicality he'd played with throughout his career certainly remained in 2012, Taylor didn't cap his career as dominately as scouts had hoped. He seemed to play better as the year went on, however, leading to some speculation that he'll be even better in 2013 after a full removed from the serious foot injury that had ruined seasons for NFL stars Santonio Holmes, Darren McFadden and Matt Schaub, among others, in recent years. - Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com