Jawaan Taylor. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

How Chiefs' Jawaan Taylor put every offensive tackle in NFL under microscope

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 9/8/23

Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor made himself the unintentional focal point of Thursday's game against the Detroit Lions, and in doing so may have put a target on himself and every other offensive tackle in the NFL in the short-term.

Throughout the Chiefs' 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions, Taylor seemed to consistently be a step ahead of the Chiefs' snap count while also being illegally lined up off of the line of scrimmage. The combination of a quick first step and starting further back off the line gave him a significant advantage over the Lions' pass rush, and especially top pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson (though, it did not really slow down Hutchinson from causing havoc in the Chiefs' backfield.)

It became a focal point for the NBC announcing team, with rules analyst Terry McAulay admitting that Taylor was clearly lining up illegally.

The officials did not actually call him for a false start until the final two minutes of the game when the Chiefs were already facing a fourth-and-20.

It took 58 minutes, but Jawaan Taylor just finally got called for a penalty.

Collinworth: "Jawaan Taylor playing slot receiver."pic.twitter.com/PbWziIfNxe
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 8, 2023

It has been pointed out that a lot of tackles have a tendency to time the snap count and get a split-second head start, with former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals edge rusher J.J. Watt saying that if he was a tackle he would continue to do it as long as it isn't called.

While tackles might get a little bit of leeway on the split-second start, mainly because referees are not going to call it that closely every single time, Taylor's alignment might be something that gets a little more attention.

CBS rules analyst, and former long-time NFL referee, Gene Steratore also joined the discussion on Friday and acknowledged that Taylor was "egregiously off" in his alignment throughout the game. Anytime you are talking about a player doing something egregious it is probably not a good sign for the officials working the game that they did not call it (in this case, an illegal formation) a single time.

The NFL tends to be a reactionary league with things like this, so it is entirely possible that officials for Sunday's games are given the order to pay closer attention to where tackles are lined up and if they are trying to give themselves any sort of advantage against elite pass rushers.

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