Up next in our 90-in-90 series is offensive lineman Branson Taylor, a sixth-round pick of the Bolts from 2025!
The Basics
Height: 6’6
Weight: 321 pounds
College: Pittsburgh
Experience: 1
Taylor was one of the highest-rated offensive tackles in the state of Ohio during his senior season at Elyria Catholic. He was named First-Team All-State and was ranked as the No. 22 offensive tackle prospect in the country by 247Sports and the No. 6 prospect in the state of Ohio. Off the field, Taylor was an All-County performer
in basketball, as well.
Ultimately, Taylor chose to continue his football career at Pittsburgh.
As a true freshman, Taylor played in three games (in a reserve role) which all came at the end of the season. Since he played in less than four games, Taylor utilized a redshirt to retain a year of eligibility. His sophomore season was more of the same, playing in 12 games as a reserve and on the PAT unit.
In 2022, Taylor played in all 13 games for the Panthers and earned the first four starts of his career at left tackle. Taylor held on to his starting jump the following year, splitting 11 games at both right (three) and left tackle (eight).
As a fifth-year senior, Taylor start the first six games of the season at left tackle before suffering a knee injury took the rest of his year.
With the injury taking away his pre-draft process, Taylor saw his stock fall a bit and was eventually taken in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was eventually released as part of the team’s final cuts before being re-signed to the practice squad. After the season, the Chargers signed Taylor to a reserve/futures contract.
The Good
Taylor has guard/tackle flexibility which is always valuable in the NFL. As of the team’s mandatory minicamp in June, Taylor was working as the team’s second-string left tackle, even moving up to the first-team unit when Slater was not present.
Coming out of Pitt, Taylor displayed an aggressive approach to pass protection. He likes to get right into the face of pass rushers to put a halt to their plan as soon as possible.
Strong lower body helps him dig into double-teams and displace interior defenders without much struggle.
The Bad
Has a bad tendency to open up his hips and allow soft corners at the top of his pass set. Hips also show up as tight when getting himself squared up on blocks while moving laterally.
Needs to work on strengthening his center of gravity. His college film saw him get knocked off his spot too often when facing power rushers.
2026 Outlook
Taylor has found himself in a great place entering his second training camp. After being an afterthought from his draft class during his rookie season, he’s seemingly worked himself into a backup role behind Rashawn Slater at left tackle. Rookie Travis Burke looks to be slotted as the backup right tackle which means Taylor only has to fend off some of the fresher faces in the room to earn a fairly safe place on the active roster.
