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Ourlads
Junior entry and three year starter from Bellingham, WA. Versatile prospect with the ability to play close to the line in the box, the outside flat and the deep hole. Often aligns in the box at LB depth showing instinctive reactions and quick change of direction versus the run. Natural knee bender. His experience in a variety of coverage playing quarters, one high and the short flat. Tracks well moving downhill from a deep alignment to make a tackle in space. Solid fundamental tackling skill with knee bend, explosiveness and finish Rarely misses. Explosive taking on blocks showing no fear throwing his body into bigger blockers. Powerful punch for his size getting quick separation from a blocker. Takes proper angles to the ball whenever he is on the field. Contains the edge run and squeezes running lanes back inside. Solid zone cover skills with awareness of multiple receivers in a zone. Adept at playing the short zones getting under deep routes and playing up to the flat. Reacts well on the throw often making big hits. Shows good range over the top with a closing burst. Has the speed to cover slots and TEs on vertical routes. Mirror ability is average and will get separated on a cut at times but recovers well. Slight tightness in some reactions such as centerfield turn, and turn and run but this is minimized with closing ability and positioning. Ball skills are average as he tends to go for the hit rather than working the catch point. Can be a little late arriving at the ball. Rapp has solid tools as an NFL starter in the right scheme. His run support is ability gibes him a fit as a nickel hybrid for many teams. Has outstanding kick coverage skill and has been productive in that area. 2018 stats: 59 T, 6 TFL, 5 sacks, 5 PBU, 2 INT. (First/second round)
Small note.
Taylor Rapp is a dual USA/Canadian citizen of Chinese ancestry.
Go Canada!
No. 41: Taylor Rapp
Rapp, a junior from Bellingham, ranked as the nations’ No. 2 safety and No. 5 overall player in the Pac-12, behind Murphy, Burr-Kirven, WSU’s Gardner Minshew (No. 38) and Stanford’s JJ Arcega-Whiteside. PFF wrote: “He blitzed on 41 occasions and came away with 11 pressures that included five sacks, just rounding out an all-around dominant year for one of the nation’s best defenses.” Rapp declared for the NFL draft last week.
Taylor Rapp timing the snap count at full speed pic.twitter.com/bUlETIPi03
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) January 9, 2019
Agamemnonhttps://www.hogshaven.com/2019/2/28/18238194/taylor-rapp
Rapp was voted to PFF’s First-Team All-American list in 2018. PFF states “Rapp is a rare player with the ability to play any back-seven position if needed. He finishes the regular season as our highest-graded safety in the nation (91.4) and displayed his versatility with five sacks, two interceptions and five pass breakups.”
Rapp is an interchangeable safety with the instincts of a free safety and the physicality of a box player. He can play man in the slot, can blitz, can play the run, and cover deep. I think there are some legitimate questions regarding his range, but his instincts and knack for tracking the ball may compensate for a lack of pure speed. I like Rapp but those that are trying to sell him to me as a late first to early second, I feel his draft value is probably a little high.
Furthermore, PFF charged Rapp with surrendering just 8 receptions and missing only two tackles on the season. One of which, he missed a tackle while blitzing the QB, gets up, and then still gets the sack.
Agamemnon
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