Chester Taylor
American football player (born 1979)
Chester Lamar Taylor (born September 22, 1979), nicknamed "Che Tay", is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL draft. In 2006, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and played four seasons before signing with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Toledo Rockets.
01Early life
Taylor was a four-time all-state running back and sprinter at River Rouge High School before attending the University of Toledo. While at Toledo, Taylor set school records for rushing yards and touchdowns. In 2001, he led the Rockets to an impressive victory over in-state rival Cincinnati Bearcats in the Motor City Bowl, giving Toledo their first bowl win since the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl. He was named the MVP of the game with 31 (Motor City Bowl Record) carries for 190 yards (then a Motor City Bowl Record) and a touchdown. In track, Taylor competed in the 100-meter dash and recorded a PR of 11.14 seconds.
Taylor ranked seventh in nation for the 2001 season with 1,492 rushing yards (268 attempts, 5.3 yards-per-carry) and 20 touchdowns. He also hauled in 26 receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns, with a longest reception of 43 yards.
Taylor was named North Team MVP in the 2002 Hula Bowl.
02Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m) | 213 lb (97 kg) | 30+1⁄8 in (0.77 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 4.63 s | 1.63 s | 2.70 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) | 22 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Baltimore Ravens
Taylor was taken with the 35th pick in the sixth round (207th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He spent four years backing up Jamal Lewis, seeing minimal yet increasing playing time throughout his tenure with the team. He also developed himself as a receiving threat, making him the Ravens third down back.
Minnesota Vikings
Taylor was signed by the Minnesota Vikings to a four-year, $14.1 million contract on March 12, 2006. On October 22, 2006, Taylor set a Vikings franchise record for longest run from scrimmage when he ran for a 95-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which is also an NFL record for the longest run in the 3rd quarter, against the Seattle Seahawks. He also broke 1000 rushing yards for the first time in his NFL career. Taylor and Adrian Peterson were considered one of the NFL's top running back tandems.
Chicago Bears
Taylor was signed by the Chicago Bears to a four-year, $12.5 million contract on March 5, 2010. In 2010, Taylor shared carries with running back Matt Forte. His stats fell compared to his times with the Ravens and Vikings and rushed for only 267 yards on 112 carries for a 2.4 yard average.
Taylor was released by Chicago during final cuts on September 3, 2011.
Arizona Cardinals
Taylor was claimed via waivers for a one-year contract by the Arizona Cardinals on September 4, 2011.
03Career statistics
NFL
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2002 | BAL | 15 | 2 | 33 | 122 | 3.7 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 129 | 9.2 | 20 | 2 |
| 2003 | BAL | 16 | 1 | 63 | 276 | 4.4 | 32 | 2 | 20 | 132 | 6.6 | 23 | 0 |
| 2004 | BAL | 16 | 4 | 160 | 714 | 4.5 | 47 | 2 | 30 | 184 | 6.1 | 23 | 0 |
| 2005 | BAL | 15 | 1 | 117 | 487 | 4.2 | 52 | 0 | 41 | 292 | 7.1 | 20 | 1 |
| 2006 | MIN | 15 | 15 | 303 | 1,216 | 4.0 | 95 | 6 | 42 | 288 | 6.9 | 24 | 0 |
| 2007 | MIN | 14 | 8 | 157 | 844 | 5.4 | 84 | 7 | 29 | 281 | 9.7 | 50 | 0 |
| 2008 | MIN | 16 | 1 | 101 | 399 | 4.0 | 21 | 4 | 45 | 399 | 8.9 | 47 | 2 |
| 2009 | MIN | 16 | 0 | 94 | 338 | 3.6 | 25 | 1 | 44 | 389 | 8.8 | 33 | 1 |
| 2010 | CHI | 16 | 1 | 112 | 267 | 2.4 | 24 | 3 | 20 | 139 | 7.0 | 18 | 0 |
| 2011 | ARI | 12 | 1 | 20 | 77 | 3.9 | 34 | 1 | 14 | 91 | 6.5 | 17 | 0 |
| 151 | 34 | 1,160 | 4,740 | 4.1 | 95 | 26 | 299 | 2,324 | 7.8 | 50 | 6 | ||
Playoffs
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2003 | BAL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 16 | 0 |
| 2008 | MIN | 1 | 0 | 12 | 48 | 4.0 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 10 | 0 |
| 2009 | MIN | 2 | 0 | 10 | 51 | 5.1 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 11 | 0 |
| 2010 | CHI | 2 | 0 | 14 | 46 | 3.3 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 36 | 145 | 4.0 | 14 | 2 | 13 | 101 | 7.8 | 16 | 0 | ||
College
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Chester Taylor”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Brad Johnson handoff to Chester Taylor.jpg by Sumeet Jain, CC BY-SA 2.0
- 20090104 Chester Taylor.JPG by TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM), CC BY-SA 3.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
