Tyrod Taylor has been a Jets quarterback the past two seasons. He had productive "mop-up" assignments at the end of three games last season and stepped in as an injury replacement and showed well in the 29-27 loss to Tampa Bay this season.
But Taylor has been elevated for the first time this week to No. 1 QB and will be experiencing "a full-circle moment" with his starting assignment at Baltimore against the Ravens, the team that drafted him in the sixth round in 2011.
"I'm just thankful for the opportunity," Taylor said several times Wednesday, not just about his next start but his first activity with the Ravens. "I remember when I got drafted, there were some people who wanted to put me at wide receiver. I fought the notion down and I stood firm that I was a quarterback. That is what I played my whole life, and if given the opportunity, I can show that. Fifteen years later I'm still proving it, and I welcome those challenges."
He has indeed shown that over the ensuing seasons, and it's worth noting some of his career metrics:
The Starting Record
Taylor's career W-L record as a starter isn't eye-popping at 29-29-1, but what is impressive is that he has gotten on the field for six teams after the Ravens. And he'll get the chance with the Jets to make it six consecutive teams for which he's gotten at least one starting win. His start and victory totals for his last five teams: Buffalo (43/23), Cleveland (3/1), the Los Angeles Chargers (1/1), Houston (6/2) and the Giants (5/2).
High on the INT List
■ Even with 3 interceptions thrown this season, Taylor is in elite company when it comes to lowest interception rates in NFL history (for all QBs with at least 1,000 attempts). Taylor is fourth on that list, a couple of thousandths of a percentage point ahead of Jets nemeses Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes:
The leaders:
| Quarterback | NFL Seasons | Career INT Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jacoby Brissett | 2016- | 1.37% |
| 2. Aaron Rodgers | 2005- | 1.44% |
| 3. Justin Herbert | 2020- | 1.64% |
| 4. Tyrod Taylor | 2011- | 1.757% |
| 5. Tom Brady | 2000-22 | 1.759% |
| 6. Patrick Mahomes | 2017- | 1.765% |
Also a QB Rushing Leader
We won't throw Taylor under the QB bus for having slowed down some in his 15th pro season and playing on a sometimes sore knee (which he reports "feels good" as he and the Jets head toward Baltimore). But Taylor's career average of 5.61 yards/carry is still strong, coming in at 11th on the list of all NFL QBs with at least 400 carries. (Justin Fields is seventh at 5.91.) And in those last 15 pro seasons, Taylor's 5.61 career average is fifth behind only Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Fields and Marcus Mariota.
Driving His Offenses to TDs
We're comparing apples to oranges here, but it is finally worth noting that Taylor's unofficial career TD drive rate since 2015 after leaving Baltimore and making his first pro starts for Buffalo in '15, is 20.1%. Thirty percent is outstanding in the league, yet 20% is still a better-than-average rate of producing six-pointers.
In fact, Taylor's 20.1 would put him in the top five career drive rates among Jets starters with 10-plus starts, led by Al Dorow (1960-61 Titans, 25.7), Brett Favre (2008, 24.1), Pat Ryan (1978-89, 21.8) and Aaron Rodgers (2023-24, 21.1).
Now Back to the Future
As Taylor said this week, the numbers, be they the final score or personal statistics, don't always turn your way.
"No game is pretty from a fan perspective, from a media perspective," he said. "You want it to be 300 yards passing, 100-plus yards running. At the end of the day we have to be consistent on offense and all three phases."
Here's to seeing Taylor achieve more consistency and more pro goals and adding to his professional résumé in his coming weeks as the Jets' starting QB.
