2020 NFL Draft: Jonathan Taylor shows improvement in passing game

The Wisconsin Badgers’ top weapon, and top NFL prospect, showed improvement in the passing game early in the win over the South Florida Bulls.

Coming into the season, Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor has been touted as one of the biggest names to watch for the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s a big-time playmaker, no doubt. But one aspect of his game that was an unknown was his ability out of the backfield in the passing game.

Taylor proved his worth early in Tampa against the Bulls’ defense, taking two receptions into the endzone. His first came early in the second quarter to extend the Badgers’ lead. Taylor took the screen pass on the far side of the field and followed his blocking en route to a 36-yard touchdown. Shockingly enough, this was the first receiving touchdown in Taylor’s college career.

Before Friday night, Taylor had just 16 catches for 155 yards. Compared to his 606 carries over the past two seasons, it was easy for fans and scouts to simply write him off as a two-down power back. Obviously, head coach Paul Chryst and Taylor came together in the offseason to ensure he’d be just as much of a factor in the passing game as he is in the running game.

Taylor’s second receiving touchdown is arguably more impressive. The Badgers had just eight seconds to work with in the half when quarterback Jack Coan dumped the ball down to Taylor in the near-flat off a crisp dig route from out wide. Taylor powered through two would-be tacklers while simultaneously showing his agility, stretching his body awkwardly over the goal line for six.

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With a new QB in Coan and running behind four new linemen, Taylor is the most important player on the entire Badgers offense. Although a big knock on him heading into draft season will be his ridiculous workload, adding receiving prowess to his resume certainly won’t hurt.

Even with the added skill in his repertoire, Taylor was the same playmaker toating the rock as before. Finishing the night with 135 yards on 18 carries, Taylor took two runs to the house from a distance, displaying his power, patience, and efficient straight-line speed in the process.

His second touchdown run ended his night in the third quarter. Taylor took the inside handoff and proceeded to show patience, weaving through traffic at the line of scrimmage before showing his burst into the open field. 38-yards later, Taylor was in for his fourth touchdown of the night.

I, admittedly, was pretty harsh on Taylor in my top-5 ranking of this year’s class of running backs. While it’s still early in the season, the Bulls are from a top program, Taylor looked just as strong as when he burst onto the scene in 2017. If all of this translates into conference play, Talyor’s stock will only rise further.