Taylor Decker
refer to caption
Decker with the Lions in 2022
No. 68 – Detroit Lions
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1993-08-23) August 23, 1993 (age 30)
Vandalia, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:318 lb (144 kg)
Career information
High school:Vandalia (OH) Butler
College:Ohio State (2012–2015)
NFL Draft:2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Games played:96
Games started:96
Receptions:3
Receiving yards:15
Receiving touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Taylor Decker (born August 23, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State.

Early years

Decker attended Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio. He was a three-year starter for the football team as a left tackle. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the 23rd-best offensive tackle in his class.[1] He originally committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football but changed to Ohio State University.[2] In addition to football, Decker played basketball in high school.[3]

College career

Decker played in all 12 games as a true freshman in the 2012 season. He played mostly special teams, but played 22 snaps on offense. Decker took over as a starter his sophomore season in the 2013 season, starting all 14 games at the right tackle position.[4] Decker moved from right tackle to left tackle his junior year in 2014 and was the Buckeyes only returning starter on the offensive line.[5][6] He started all 15 games, including the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Oregon.[7][8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 7 in
(2.01 m) 		310 lb
(141 kg) 		33+3⁄4 in
(0.86 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 5.23 s 1.81 s 3.02 s 4.76 s 7.70 s 29 in
(0.74 m)		 8 ft 5 in
(2.57 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day[9]
Decker in 2019

Decker was drafted in the first round with the 16th overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2016 NFL Draft.[10]

On May 6, 2016, the Lions signed Decker to a fully guaranteed four-year, $10.96 million contract with a signing bonus of $6.17 million.[11] Decker started all 16 games at the left tackle position in his rookie season and was the only player besides quarterback Matthew Stafford to play every snap on offense for the Lions. Decker was named the Lions Rookie of the Year for 2016 in voting by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

On June 6, 2017, it was revealed that Decker had undergone shoulder surgery, and was ruled out for four to six months.[12] He was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to start the 2017 season.[13] He was activated off PUP on November 11, 2017,[14] and started the final eight games of the season at left tackle.

On December 2, 2018, Decker caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford, when celebrating for the touchdown he threw the football into the stands. After the game Decker tweeted that this touchdown was his first touchdown ever, and he had been playing football since the first grade,[15] and requested that he could get in contact with the fan who caught it. On December 3, 2018, Decker was put in contact with the fan that caught it and got his first ever touchdown ball back.[16][17]

On April 29, 2019, the Lions exercised the fifth-year option on Decker's contract.[18]

On September 1, 2020, Decker signed a five-year, $70.35 million contract extension with the Lions.[19] Decker revealed in an interview with Pardon My Take, that he played the start of the 2020 season with appendicitis.[20]

On September 11, 2021, Decker was placed on injured reserve after undergoing finger surgery.[21] He was activated on November 2, 2021.[22]

On January 2, 2022, in a game against the Seattle Seahawks, Decker scored his second career touchdown on a pass from Tim Boyle.[23] Decker was awarded the 2022 media-friendly Good Guy Award by the Detroit Sports Media Association and Detroit chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association.[24]

Regular season statistics

Legend
First Team All-Pro
Second Team All-Pro
No type penalty
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Offense
GP GS Snaps Pct Holding False start Decl/Pen Acpt/Pen
2016 DET 16 16 1,037 100% 3 3 2 6
2017 DET 8 8 471 97% 1 2 3 3
2018 DET 16 16 1,062 99% 2 3 2 5
2019 DET 15 15 1,017 100% 5 3 2 8
2020 DET 16 16 1,046 100% 1 5 0 6
2021 DET 9 9 529 95% 2 4 1 6
2022 DET 17 17 1,142 100% 2 4 0 6
2023 DET 7 7 502 100% 1 2 0 4
Career 104 104 6,806 99% 17 26 10 44

References

  1. ^ "Taylor Decker, 2012 Offensive Tackle, Ohio State". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Pendleton, Marc F. (January 28, 2012). "Vandalia Butler tackle Decker commits to OSU". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Ludwiczak, Brett (April 21, 2016). "How basketball has helped Taylor Decker". Land-Grant Holy Land. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Lesmerises, Doug (December 12, 2013). "No. 19, Taylor Decker: Ranking the best Ohio State Buckeyes of 2013". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Rabinowitz, Bill (August 18, 2014). "Ohio State football: Taylor Decker grabs leadership role". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Lesmerises, Doug (April 10, 2014). "New guys, same attitude: Coach Ed Warinner, returning starter Taylor Decker must retain Ohio State's offensive line warrior culture". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  7. ^ Landis, Bill (December 31, 2014). "Ohio State football: Taylor Decker's story told through his tattoos - 'Nobody wants to be average'". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Ward, Austin (January 8, 2015). "Taylor Decker's return crucial for Ohio State in '15". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "Taylor Decker – Ohio State, OT : 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile".
  10. ^ Twentyman, Tim (April 29, 2016). "Detroit Lions draft tackle Taylor Decker". Detroit Lions. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  11. ^ Rothstein, Michael (May 11, 2016). "Taylor Decker's contract continues Lions' first-round trend -- no bonuses". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Patra, Kevin (June 6, 2017). "Taylor Decker undergoes shoulder surgery". NFL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  13. ^ "Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017.
  14. ^ "Lions activate T Taylor Decker and T Corey Robinson". DetroitLions.com. November 11, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Decker, Taylor [@__taylordecker] (December 3, 2018). "To whoever caught/has the ball I threw into the stands. I've played football since first grade, and that was my first ever touchdown. I'd love to have that ball, and would be more than happy to hook you up if you'd be willing. #defendtheden #bigmantouchdown" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Decker, Taylor [@__taylordecker] (December 3, 2018). "I HAVE FOUND HIM!!!!!!! AND HE IS BEING GREAT ABOUT IT #socialmediastrikesagain" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Atkins, Nate (December 6, 2018). "Taylor Decker's mic'd up moment shows a rare O-Lineman touchdown". mlive.com. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  18. ^ "Lions exercise fifth-year option for T Taylor Decker". DetroitLions.com. April 29, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "Lions sign T Taylor Decker to multi-year contract extension". DetroitLions.com. September 2, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  20. ^ Pardon My Take [@PardonMyTake] (December 14, 2022). "Taylor Decker. Football Guy. @__taylordecker @rhoback https://t.co/pVpx4NFvnQ" (Tweet). Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Maakaron, John (September 11, 2021). "Taylor Decker Placed on Injured Reserve List". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  22. ^ Rogers, Justin (November 2, 2021). "Lions activate left tackle Taylor Decker from injured reserve". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  23. ^ Risdon, Jeff (January 3, 2022). "Watch: Lions LT Taylor Decker hauls in a touchdown catch vs. Seahawks". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  24. ^ Eisner, George (January 8, 2023). "Taylor Decker is Officially a Good Guy". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved October 8, 2023.

External links

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