How Darrell Taylor stays focused on the next opportunity playing opposite Montez Sweat for the Chicago Bears
Darrell Taylor is an opportunistic football player.
The Chicago Bears recognized this with his 15 sacks across the past two seasons and traded a sixth-round pick to acquire him from Seattle. Taylor knows he was bought in to rush the passer, especially after the Bears' attempts to land Matt Judon from New England were well documented.
That, alone, is the bottomline. Taylor sees the smaller opportunities in the biggest one, though.
Taylor appreciates every opportunity he's given, especially as he knows how fleeting those chances can be in the NFL. Moving forward is where he wants to be, and his way of moving forward is gunning towards opposing quarterbacks.
"I’m excited to be moving forward all the time," Taylor said. "Just hearing from the guys, there’s going to be an opportunity to rush the passer.
Taylor means moving forward in the literal sense there.
Coming over from Seattle, Taylor moved from a 3-4 defensive scheme where he was going to be an outside linebacker in first-year head coach Mike Macdonald's system. In Chicago, in Matt Eberflus' 4-3 defense, Taylor will have his hands in the grass, rushing the passer directly.
"I’m excited to show the Bears what I can do," Taylor said.
Coming over from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3 scheme is the perfect recipe for someone like Taylor. He already has proven sack production under his belt. In his first three seasons playing in Seattle, he had 6.5 sacks, 9.5 sacks and 5.5 sacks, respectively.
Eberflus has seen players who have made that move before. He's not concerned.
"There’s a lot of guys who have done that conversion from an odd front being a nine technique to be able to play defensive end," Eberflus said Satutday. "I’ve had a bunch of those over the course of my career and it’s always worked out."
For Taylor, seeing a scheme change as an opportunity fits with his career in how he's shaped his first four years in the NFL around an opportunistic view.
Plenty of that comes from how Taylor's first season never materialized.
Taylor had to sit out his rookie season in Seattle after undergoing offseason surgery for a leg fracture he suffered before the NFL's pre-draft process.
"My first year was just a lot," Taylor said. "I never had to sit down for a season. It was a lot that first year."
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He burst onto the scene in 2021 with 6.5 sacks. His 9.5 sacks in 2022 helped lift the Seahawks to a playoff berth.
Knowing how he never got to enjoy that first year, Taylor will never take another opportunity for granted.
"I’m here now," Taylor said. "I’m looking forward to doing the same thing."
Moving Taylor from outside linebacker to defensive end not only allows him to move on from Seattle's scheme – Taylor said he can just forget about it now – it allows Taylor to simplify his role.
The experience he has playing linebacker, covering other players and rushing from different angles, will only serve him well when he rushes the passer in a Bears uniform.
"Those guys always make good defensive ends in our system," Eberflus said. "We’re not asking them to play inside or kick them inside, play them inside a tight end, we’re mostly playing from a wide position. Those guys will flourish in that system."
The best part about "that system" that Eberflus refers to is that it includes a Pro Bowl pass rusher already.
Taylor will line up opposite edge rusher Montez Sweat and provide an accompaniment to Sweat's featured act.
"He’s done a lot of good things in this league," Taylor said. "He made his mark and continues to make his mark."
Taking attention away from Sweat is paramount.
If Taylor can force other teams away from double-teaming Sweat, that will only spell good things for the Bears. The team that was second-to-last in the NFL in sacks last season with 30 will have a chance to beef up those numbers.
The Bears' defensive line was always a work in progress. It's why general manager Ryan Poles had a deal in place for Judon, it's why there's plenty of attention paid to Gervon Dexter Sr.'s development at the 3-technique position and it's why there's an expectation for Andrew Billings to solidify the middle at nose tackle.
For Taylor, though, he joins a defensive end group that had Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, rookie Austin Booker and second-year man Dominique Robinson.
With all those pieces in place, Taylor sees the potential in the latest opportunity to knock.
"It’s a race to the quarterback," Taylor said.