Travis Lamont Taylor (born March 30, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 2000s. Taylor played college football for the University of Florida. A first-round pick in the 2000 NFL draft, he played professionally for the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams of the NFL.
Early life
Taylor was born in Fernandina Beach, Florida. He started his high school career at Camden County High School in Camden County, Georgia, but transferred to Jean Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Florida. As a senior at Ribault High School, Taylor was a first team Class 4A All-State selection, won All-America honors from SuperPrep, and was named to The Florida Times-Union Area Super 24 Team.
College career
Taylor accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1997 to 1999. Taylor compiled seventy-two receptions for 1,150 yards and fifteen touchdowns in eleven career starts, and also earned Most Valuable Player honors in the 1999 Orange Bowl with seven catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns; in the 2000 Florida Citrus Bowl, he made eleven catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens selected Taylor in the first round (tenth pick overall) in the 2000 NFL draft; he was the third receiver taken in the 2000 draft. The Ravens had high hopes of him making an immediate impact. However, Taylor would only make twenty-eight catches for 278 yards in nine games as a rookie in . That season, Taylor showed early promise for himself and for his team by scoring two touchdowns in the second game of the season, a shootout victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars—a team the Ravens had never beaten. In 2000, the Ravens would go on to win Super Bowl XXXV. Taylor's best season with Baltimore came in , when he compiled sixty-one catches for 869 yards and six touchdowns. !! 101 !! 312 !! 4,017 !! 12.9 !! 73 !! 22 !! 191 !! 32 !! 232 !! 7.3 !! 39 !! 0 !! 10
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Postseason
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" |Year
! rowspan="2" |Team
! rowspan="2" |GP
! colspan="6" |Receiving
! colspan="6" |Rushing
|-
! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! FD !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! FD
|-
! 2001 !! BAL
| 2 || 6 || 76 || 12.7 || 45 || 1 || 3 || 1 || 15 || 15.0 || 15 || 0 || 1
|-
! 2003 !! BAL
| 1 || 7 || 82 || 11.7 || 30 || 0 || 5 || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! colspan="2" |Career !! 3 !! 13 !! 158 !! 12.2 !! 45 !! 1 !! 8 !! 1 !! 15 !! 15.5 !! 15 !! 0 !! 1
|}
See also
- Florida Gators football, 1990–99
- List of Baltimore Ravens first-round draft picks
- List of Detroit Lions players
- List of Florida Gators in the NFL draft