PATRIOTS JOURNAL: Taylor’s size not holding him back

The littlest player on the Patriots has made a huge impression with the biggest person in the organization.

At 5-foot-6, J.J. Taylor’s always going to get noticed on a football field because his size — or lack thereof — sticks out. On Sunday, in his NFL debut, the undrafted free agent out of Arizona wasn’t out there for many plays, but when he was, they got Bill Belichick’s attention.

Taylor played nine snaps [...]

The littlest player on the Patriots has made a huge impression with the biggest person in the organization.

At 5-foot-6, J.J. Taylor’s always going to get noticed on a football field because his size — or lack thereof — sticks out. On Sunday, in his NFL debut, the undrafted free agent out of Arizona wasn’t out there for many plays, but when he was, they got Bill Belichick’s attention.

Taylor played nine snaps on offense on Sunday and while the dynamic of seeing Taylor next to his 6-foot-5 quarterback in Cam Newton made it appear like it was take-your-kid-to-work day, Taylor showed he’s NFL ready.

His first career touch came on a 4-yard run in the second quarter. On the Patriots’ second possession of the second half, he touched the ball four times — including runs of eight and 11 yards — on a drive that would have finished with a touchdown had N’Keal Harry not fumbled into the end zone.

"I thought J.J. ran competitively," Belichick said. "He’s a tough kid that’s got good run skills, which we saw at Arizona and to some extent in training camp as well. I thought he ran hard."

Belichick was asked about comparing Taylor to another diminutive Patriot who wore No. 42 — Mack Herron, who at 5-5 was a dynamic kick returner who set a then team-record in all-purpose yards in 1974.

The human football encyclopedia was a bit hesitant, but did smile at the mention.

"In all honesty, I don’t know that we know enough about J.J. to make that comparison. He’s played in one game and he’s practiced," Belichick said. "Mack was a returner and a runner and caught the ball out of the backfield and was quick and hard to tackle and was super-productive and all that. I don’t know if we’re able to see if J.J. fits into those categories or not. He certainly might."

Taylor was cut by the Patriots at the end of training camp and signed to the practice squad after he cleared waivers. When Damian Harris was placed on Injured Reserve, Taylor was brought on the 53-man roster to fill his spot.

On Sunday, CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz noted it was the 17th straight year the Patriots have had an undrafted free agent on their active roster during Week 1.

The fact that Taylor played shows that the Patriots at least have some trust in him and, if he keeps progressing, perhaps more is in store for someone bound to become a fan favorite.

"He’s out there every day, works hard — he’s one of the hardest-working rookies, hardest-working kids on the team," Belichick said. "I think that’s showing up in the improvement and the performance he’s been able to have through the course of training camp and now into the start of the regular season.

"There’s a long way to go. We’ll just have to see how he develops and whether he can continue to improve."

Benefiting the defense

The overhaul of the New England Patriots’ offense and Newton’s ability to run the ball helped the offense put up points and get a win in Week 1.

But could the revamped offense also prove to be an asset for the defense?

It can be hard prepping for an offense when your own roster lacks the skill set to replicate what someone else does. The Patriots 2020 schedule is littered with teams that will throw a plethora of run-pass options, starting on Sunday with Seattle and Russell Wilson, who is fresh off a torching of the Atlanta Falcons.

In the past, that presented problems. The Patriots would have to rely on someone with speed from the practice squad to come in to try to do what New England’s own players really couldn’t. On top of that, trying to run an offense that’s the opposite of yours isn’t something you can just do in a week.

Things have changed a bit with Newton in town and, at least based off what we saw on Sunday against Miami, the Patriots can execute run-pass options (RPOs) with their starting offense. That can only help the starting defense get ready for the task at hand.

"When you look at the history of the New England Patriots, we’ve always had starters go over and show the opposite side a look. I remember coming in as a rookie and Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison, all those guys were on the show team," linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said. "That’s one way we made each other better and I’m sure if the coaches asked Cam to give us a look, he would definitely be up to it with him being a team player."

Players like Wilson, 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, and even Buffalo’s Josh Allen all have RPOs in their repertoire and are all on the Patriots schedule this year.

In the past, it created issues. Tom Brady and "fleet of foot" rarely appeared in the same sentence and backups or practice squad players who can run a similar-type of offense that well don’t exist because if they did they’d be starting somewhere else.

This year the Patriots have had more preparation than ever against this style off offense and with what the 2020 schedule looks like, it’s only going to be to their benefit.

"For 20 years with Tom, you really didn’t get a lot of the read options and read zone stuff. It was definitely good to see during camp, see it every single day," Mayo said. "Those guys give us good looks each and every day going against the one offense, putting the one defense out there, those guys have gotten great looks. I would say it definitely helps."

Short-yardage success

The Patriots weren’t just good in short-yardage situations on Sunday against Miami.

They were nearly perfect.

New England had 12 plays to go four yards or less for a first down or touchdown. One was a fourth-and-1 from their own 34, so the Patriots punted. But the other 11 were successful.

The offensive line deserves much of the credit. But it’s hard to ignore the role Newton played in all of it.

"Anytime the quarterback is a capable ball-carrier, it kind of evens the playing field relative to some of the numbers," Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "There’s been many teams that have used that to their advantage over the course of time and we’ve certainly had to defend those teams."

Newton’s impact on those types of plays were immediate. He picked up a second-and-3 on the Patriots first drive, one of four first downs he converted with his legs in short-yardage situations, including his 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He threw for another first down, a 16-yard pass to Julian Edelman that helped set up a field-goal attempt at the end of the first half.

"I’ll tell you right now — I’ll do whatever I can do to get a first down in those situations," McDaniels said. "I know the distance is not very big, but the situation is usually enormous. The momentum you gain from converting one or not converting one on the flip side of it can be really important to the game."

Newton wasn’t the only one with success. Sony Michel, who had trouble in short yardage last year after a successful rookie season in 2018, carried it four times in short situations and picked up three first downs and the game-clinching touchdown.

James White also picked up a first down on a second-and-4 in the second quarter and Rex Burkhead picked up a third-and-3 to keep that Michel TD drive alive.

"I thought our guys did a good job of executing the actual play up front and giving the runners the chance to convert on those. Sony made two great runs on short yardage on Sunday and I thought he was really tough and physical," McDaniels said. "We kind of kept the line of scrimmage clean so that he could kind of get himself started and Cam obviously made a couple of runs there at the end as well."

erueb@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @EricRueb