Countdown to Kickoff Profile: Detroit Lions No. 68 Taylor Decker
The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a profile on rookie tackle Taylor Decker of the Detroit Lions.
There are exactly 68 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.
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We began by previewing the rookie defensive end of the San Diego Chargers in Joey Bosa (No. 99) and gave our thoughts on New York Giants defensive tackle Damon Harrison, No. 98 with his brand new club. On Friday, it was new Denver Broncos right guard Evan Mathis at No. 69. You can check out all of the posts right here.
The list of No. 68s is pretty impressive historically. There’s a trio of Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive linemen in Russ Grimm, Joe DeLamielleure and Will Shields. There was also fabled Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood. For the majority of his career, eight-time Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae wore No. 68 for both the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
This time around, we’re taking a look at the 16th overall selection in April’s draft. Ohio State tackle Taylor Decker was one of 12 Ohio State Buckeyes selected this spring and he should help the Detroit Lions offensive line immediately.
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“This is a really solid pick for rookie general manager Bob Quinn,” said Mike Mayock of NFL Network. “Left tackle Riley Reiff is in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. Decker can play right tackle and move over to left if the Lions don’t re-sign Reiff.”
But it seems like the team already has other plans for Decker. The 6’7”, 310-pound blocker was the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2015 and it appears he will be the team’s starter on the left side, with Reiff moving to right tackle. Then again, nothing is set in stone…yet.
“What can I say?” said the rookie offensive lineman to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “I’m just playing where they tell me to play. I don’t count my reps at every position.”
“What you’ve seen out there on the field is he still works both (left and right tackle), a little bit,” added head coach Jim Caldwell earlier this week. “He’s playing more left tackle than anything else at this point. Pads go on when we come back, so we’ll see.”
More nfl spin zone: Countdown to Kickoff: Denver Broncos No. 69 Evan Mathis
What the Lions hope to see is improvement up front. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked 44 times last season and Detroit finished with the league’s worst ground attack. Perhaps some better blocking will help both issues.
And given his play with the Buckeyes, Decker is Taylor-made for the job.