Who is Lorenzo Taliaferro?

Jaron Foster

taliaferro

The fantasy football headlines over the last couple weeks have focused on players who won’t produce for your team on the field, but with every deactivation or release comes opportunity for others to step up. In Baltimore, the debate between Justin Forsett and Bernard Pierce continues with a rookie waiting for his chance.

Selected in the fourth round at #138 overall, Lorenzo Taliaferro from Coastal Carolina was hand-picked by the current coaching staff as the fourteenth running back off the board in the 2014 NFL Draft. The preseason hype around Taliaferro was significant after he led the NFL in rushing yards, though he has taken a backseat in the Ravens’ run game and may a player flying under the radar to be acquired at a low price.

After playing two years at Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Taliaferro played in 12 games as a junior in his first season with Coastal Carolina. At 6’0” and 229 pounds, the rookie back was primarily used in red zone situations, scoring five touchdowns though he averaged fewer than seven carries per game, he took advantage of his opportunities by averaging 4.5 yards per carry inclusive of short goal line situations.

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Taliaferro broke out in a big way as a senior, carrying the ball 276 times for 1,729 yards and 27 touchdowns and catching 23 passes for 153 yards and two scores. Not surprisingly, he was subsequently named Big South Offensive Player of the Year as he broke a dozen school records.

At the NFL Combine in 2014, Taliaferro was clocked at 4.54 in the 40-yard dash (a good time considering his size) and demonstrated agility as he led all running backs with a 6.88 second 3-cone drill.

Breaking tackles on his way to 243 rushing yards and a touchdown in the preseason, Taliaferro is a downfield runner with good vision and the patience to let running lanes open up. Solid in pass protection and as a receiver out of the backfield as well, he has proven he can be a true three-down back even though he was widely projected to be a short-yardage specialist. He won’t rank among the league leaders in receptions at the running back position, but he has the talent to be effective in passing situations.

As is often the case for running backs with similar frames, Taliaferro has limited speed and acceleration. Though he is a good receiver, he is not a particularly good route runner according to some scouts and doesn’t have “big play ability” after the catch. Perhaps the biggest knock on the rookie is that he did not face great competition at the collegiate level with his junior college or at Coastal Carolina, bringing many to question his ability to transfer his senior year production to the NFL level. A common NFL comparison has been Khiry Robinson, who played at an even smaller school and went undrafted, though we have yet to see what the Saint can do in the NFL.

Thus far, Taliaferro has yet to have a chance to prove he can perform on the big stage. Following his big preseason and the loss of Ray Rice (initially to a two game suspension), he was third on the depth chart in the Ravens’ week one loss to Cincinnati. Though he was targeted once and the starter (Pierce) was benched due to ineffectiveness, Taliaferro did not see much time on the field as he didn’t receive a single carry. Week two was more of the same despite six combined failed goal-line carries for Pierce and Forsett.

A journeyman on his fourth team on only six seasons, Forsett played for Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak in Houstin and is familiar with the system. Though Pierce showed promise with nearly 5 yards per carry in his rookie season, that number fell to 2.9 in 2013 and has already been benched for ball security issues and suffered a concussion in the preseason. At some point, the coaching staff will grow wary of this ineffectiveness and see what their fourth round pick can do, especially in short-yardage situations.

Whether that opportunity will come in 2014 likely depends on whether his teammates in the backfield can hold onto their jobs. Keep in mind that in Kubiak’s previous system, Arian Foster was stuck behind an ineffective Steve Slaton for the 2009 season until he got his shot in 2010. With Kubiak’s reputation for developing thousand-yard rushers (Orlando Gary, Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson, Reuben Droughns, Clinton Portis, Slaton and Foster), it is wise to keep an eye on candidates to be his next project at running back. For the next two or three seasons, I would put my money on Taliaferro.

In college, he excelled in a similar zone-blocking scheme that Kubiak runs as it plays well to his aforementioned strengths. In this style of offense, the running back needs to patiently wait for running lanes to open up before cutting downhill. As this was Taliaferro’s bread and butter last season, he seems like a perfect fit.

Unlike many of the players who have been featured in this column, Taliaferro was among the top 240 players selected in August mock drafts. He snuck in at 235th overall, going undrafted in three of six mocks and never before the 19th round. DLF rankers have him as the 40th overall rookie and fifteenth at the running back position among first year players. I expect he will rise up both boards as we approach the 2015 season and quite possibly earlier if he can earn the trust of his coaching staff and Joe Flacco.

Given the recent news out of the NFL, and general mediocrity ahead of him on the depth chart, Taliaferro is likely already rostered in your league. If he available, be sure to claim him before Kubiak decides it is time to put him on the field. If he is not on the waiver wire, his lack of snaps may mean he’s available for a low price.

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