J'Mari Taylor

● Short, dense body type with plenty of mass packed on his frame ● Stays square, presses the hole and gathers his cut-ready feet ● Quick footwork — put some nice jump cuts on film ● Runs with patience, allowing his blockers to do their jobs ● Gets behind his pads downhill to bounce off contact ● Always runs hard, while also driving to burrow in short yardage ● Holds the ball a tad exposed but rarely fumbles, thanks to his grip strength (two career fumbles) ● Heavily targeted back leaves college with almost 100 career catches ● Former walk-on who has earned everything and responds well to challenges ● Played on both kick return and punt coverages over his career (six career tackles)

● Doesn’t have ideal size and looks maxed out ● Runs quick and hard, but he’s not explosive ● Didn’t create big plays at a high rate (21 carries of 10-plus yards in 2025 ranked 87th in the FBS) ● Builds speed well but can get hawked down from behind ● Hips stiffen up when attempting quick direction changes ● For a shorter back, can get a tad high with his pad level ● Fights the ball at times (five drops in 2025) ● Inconsistent when given reps as a pass blocker (see 2025 ACC championship)

A one-year starter at Virginia (and two-year starter overall), Taylor was a productive runner in offensive coordinator Des Kitchings’ zone-based run scheme. A former walk-on in the FCS, he is accustomed to betting on himself. He topped 1,000 yards rushing as a first-year starter in 2024 at NC Central, then transferred up to Virginia for his final season. After scoring 17 touchdowns in 2024, he accounted for an ACC-best 16 touchdowns last season. Taylor is a patient, quick-reading zone runner who can find creases and gets what is blocked for him (plus a little extra). He can be a bowling ball when needed to burrow in short yardage or bounce off contact in the lane, although I wouldn’t classify him as a creative runner. His blocking and pass catching show promise but aren’t selling points for his game just yet. Overall, Taylor runs with both the compass and contact balance to be a volume ball carrier in a zone scheme. His reliability on special teams and third downs will help determine his value once he gets into an NFL camp. 54 Back to table of contents -- 58 of 629 --