Doc Serritella Draft Bible
6. TAYLOR RAPP | WASHINGTON | #7 | JR | Bellingham, WA | 12.22.97 (age 21) | 5116 | 208 | 2nd RD | 8.0 |
Wasserman HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
COMBINE 5116 208 3034 0900 7278 n/a n/a n/a 35 9-7 3.99 6.82 17
OUTLOOK: Chris Petersen has helped the Washington return to national prominence in part due to a focus on recruiting OKGs, or what he calls “Our Kind of Guys.” A perfect example of this is Rapp, a Chinese-American from a city just south of the Canadian border who began his college career labeled as “just” a three-star talent from recruiting experts. In the three years since, however, Rapp has earned recognition as the PAC-12’s Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, a First Team all- conference choice at safety as a sophomore, a consensus All-American in 2018 and emerged as one of the cleanest NFL prospects available, regardless of position, in the country. Sure, ball-skills and straight-line speed are important but the single most critical element to safety play remains being a reliable open-field tackler. He has defied odds his entire life and is expected to be the highest-drafted Asian player ever in NFL history (Ed Wang, Round 5, Pick 140 in 2010).
PROS: While perhaps an inch or two shorter than ideal, Rapp looks the part of an NFL safety with a compact, well-muscled frame that provides the perfect body armor for his highly aggressive, physical style of play. Rapp’s greatest attributes are clearly his awareness and tackling ability. He shows Jedi-like instincts in locating the football with magnets for hands, resulting in seven interceptions and five fumbles (two forced, three covered) in just three seasons. Further, Rapp shows remarkable body control as a tackler, racing in from the secondary to make difficult tackles on elusive ball-carriers look easy. Generally speaking, he is a technically- sound face-up tackler who wraps his arms for the secure stop but he creates impressive force for real stopping power, as well, and shows excellent hand-eye coordination to trip up runners seemingly out of his reach. Rapp’s awareness also shows up in coverage, where he displays excellent route recognition, as well as impressive coordination and quickness in changing directions to stick in the hip pocket of potential receivers. Younger than most prospects, just turning 21.
CONS: Appears quicker than fast and may lack preferred top-end speed for deep duties, especially for defenses planning to run a lot of single-high safety looks. Highly regarded for his playmaking ability but at times appears too willing to concede the reception and make the tackle rather than attack the ball.
.
