Entering Senior Bowl week, Taylor Mays was drawing comparisons of Panthers’ defender Thomas Davis, which is both good and bad.
The good is that Davis has developed into one of the better outside linebackers in the NFL. He can play the pass just as well as the run and he’s a solid all-around playmaker and tackler.
The bad is that Davis was a safety in college, which is the position Mays played at USC. Mays would like to stay at safety, but reports have surfaced that pro teams view him as an outside linebacker or even a hybrid OLB/S in a 3-4 scheme. The reason for the potential position change is because Mays displayed poor ball skills in college and has trouble matching up with receivers in man coverage. He also plays too tall, doesn’t move his hips well and struggles in space.
That said, Mays is turning heads at the scouting combine. He ran an unofficial forty time of 4.24 on Tuesday, which would make him the fastest player at this year’s workout. He also turned in a 41-inch vertical and 10’5-inch broad jump, which are equally impressive. If he wanted to prove to teams that he can play safety at the next level, he’s certainly making a strong case at the combine.
Of course, the combine can only help a player so much. Once teams review film on him at Southern Cal, they’ll still see Mays’ weaknesses and might draft him as an OLB regardless of how he performs this week. Still, his numbers are impressive and he certainly didn’t hurt his draft stock in Indianapolis.
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