Jawaan Taylor struggled during the early portion of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the former second-round pick posted his best season in 2022. Still only 25 years old, Taylor is now set up for a significant payday when the 2023 NFL free agency period opens.
With plenty of teams seeking answers at right tackle, will Taylor re-sign with the Jaguars, or will another team secure his services on the open market?
Jawaan Taylor Free Agency Predictions
Update, 2:15 p.m. ET: NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reports that Taylor will be signing with the Kansas City Chiefs on a 4-year, $80M deal with $60M guaranteed. With Taylor off of the market, make sure to check out the best remaining free agents to see who your team might sign.
Denver Broncos Need Right Tackle Help
Outstanding offensive line play was a constant during Sean Payton’s time in New Orleans, but the new Broncos head coach has some work to do to get Denver’s front five in the right place. Guard Quinn Meinerz will be back in 2023, and left tackle Garett Bolles should return even if he has to rework his contract.
But the Broncos’ offensive line might need help nearly everywhere else, especially if guard Dalton Risner leaves in free agency. Right tackle is a definite area of concern, as all three veterans Denver added to handle the position in 2022 — Billy Turner, Cameron Fleming, and Tom Compton — are pending free agents.
MORE: 2023 NFL Free Agency Predictions
After trying to solve right tackle with one-year fliers last season, the Broncos could make a serious investment in Taylor. Because the Florida product entered the NFL so early, he’s one of the youngest free agents available on this year’s market.
Russell Wilson faced the highest pressure rate among all NFL quarterbacks in 2022. While much of that pressure can be attributed to Wilson’s play style, the Broncos also need to make upgrades along their OL. Taylor has always been better in pass protection than as a run blocker, so he could help Wilson stay upright as the veteran QB attempts to revitalize his career.
Taylor Could Replace La’el Collins in Cincinnati
After allowing Joe Burrow to absorb a league-high 51 sacks in 2021, the Bengals addressed their woeful offensive line by signing free agents Alex Cappa, Ted Karras, and La’el Collins the following offseason.
Cappa and Karras both played well, and while Collins also flashed at times, he suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Week 16. Given his current injury and his lengthy history of health issues, Collins could be a potential cap casualty in the coming weeks. Cincinnati would save more than $6 million against the cap by releasing Collins.
The Bengals have $35+ million in available cap space, so they could afford a free agent addition. However, if Cincinnati signs a high-profile veteran like Taylor, it might not be able to do much else over the offseason, given that the club needs to budget for Burrow and Tee Higgins extensions.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been able to add in free agency and add some pieces, places where we were missing guys and add some depth, add starters through free agency,” Bengals director of pro scouting Steven Radicevic told The Athletic. “Now it’s going to be keeping our guys, sustain the roster we have, and then build through the draft and waiver claims.”
Long-term deals for Burrow and Higgins shouldn’t significantly increase Cincy’s 2023 cap charges, meaning the team could probably afford at least one expensive free agent this year. Given their recent problems drafting offensive linemen, adding a known commodity like Taylor might make sense for the Bengals, who ranked 30th in pass-block win rate a season ago.
The Chicago Bears Have A Lot of Cap Space and a Need at RT
NFL teams can’t be totally remade in free agency, but the Bears will have to try to upend their roster this offseason while spending the nearly $100 million in cap space at their disposal.
For a rebuilding like Chicago, signing aging players approaching or over 30 years old doesn’t make much sense. Instead, general manager Ryan Poles should add as many young free agents as he can find — and that list starts with Taylor.
It’s often challenging to find upside on the open market. The majority of free agents have some sort of flaw that has led their current team to allow their contract to expire.
MORE: Offensive Line Free Agency Rankings 2023
Taylor certainly has his warts and needs to become more consistent on a down-for-down basis. But it’s rare that a young player at a premium position with Taylor’s draft pedigree is readily available.
Chicago may have found its franchise left tackle by selecting Braxton Jones in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, but the club needs help on the right side, where Larry Borom and Riley Reiff split snaps last season.
Taylor isn’t a generational player, but hardly any free agent is. He offers youth, durability, and a relatively high floor, and that’s exactly what a team like the Bears — the NFL’s version of tabula rasa — should be looking for.
Jawaan Taylor Market Value, Careeer Stats, and More
Pro Football Network’s Top 100 NFL Free Agents list includes eight offensive tackles. However, Orlando Brown Jr. is likely to be franchise tagged by the Chiefs, while Terence Steele is a restricted free agent, meaning he’ll probably stick with the Dallas Cowboys for at least one more year.
Taylor is competing with the 49ers’ Mike McGlinchey and the Falcons’ Kaleb McGary to become this offseason’s highest-paid right tackle. While McGlinchey and McGary are both former first-round picks, and McGary posted the best campaign in 2022, Taylor is three years younger than both players. In the NFL, that could mean everything.
MORE: 2023 NFL Salary Cap Space by Team
Taylor will have plenty of options on the open market, but he told reporters in January that he’d prefer to re-sign with the Jaguars.
“Most definitely,” Taylor told the Florida Times-Union. “That’s the team that took the chance on me in the draft, and I’ve been there playing for four seasons now, and I’m close to home. I’m two hours away from home, so being able to come back and play for Duval will be a lot of fun, so hopefully that will work out for me.”
Spotrac projects a $14 million annual value for Taylor, which could price him out of the Jaguars’ range. Jacksonville is more than $22 million over the cap and has former second-round pick Walker Little in place to take over at right tackle.
Jawaan Taylor Career Stats
- Seasons played: 4
- Games played: 66
- Sacks allowed in 2022: 5
- Penalties in 2022: 6
