{"id":367,"date":"2025-04-26T01:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/367\/"},"modified":"2025-04-26T01:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:27:11","slug":"jets-select-te-mason-taylor-with-42nd-pick-in-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/367\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets select TE Mason Taylor with 42nd pick in NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday night, the Jets fortified their offensive line by selecting right tackle Armand Membou<\/a> at No. 7 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

A day later, the Jets added a pass-catching weapon for quarterback Justin Fields<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At No. 42 overall, the Jets selected LSU tight end Mason Taylor. After Tyler Conklin departed in free agency, the tight end position was a significant need for the Jets, and Taylor should come in and be an immediate contributor offensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting the call and seeing the New York zip code pop up and talking to everyone in New York, it was unbelievable,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI\u2019m still kind of shocked by it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to take it all in and get ready to work. I\u2019m going to enjoy this night for sure. But the next morning, the 24-hour rule, so enjoy it right now and get back to work, and I can\u2019t wait to get to New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor was the most productive tight end in LSU history, with 129 receptions for 1,308 yards and six touchdowns during his three seasons in Baton Rouge. The 6-4, 250-pounder was a massive part of the Tigers\u2019 offense dating back to his freshman season.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Taylor started 13 games as a rookie and registered 38 catches for 414 yards and three touchdowns, catching passes from now-Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. In his final season at LSU, Taylor finished with 55 catches, which set the LSU single-season record for a tight end. He also had 546 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Taylor has NFL bloodlines, being the son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and nephew of Hall of Famer Zach Thomas. Jason Taylor actually played one season for the Jets in 2010, which was the last season the team made the playoffs. The Jets made it to the AFC Championship in Jason Taylor\u2019s lone season (second-to-last of his career) on the team, which, in terms of his team\u2019s success, was the best season of his career.<\/p>\n

When his father played for the Jets, Taylor and his parents, as well as his siblings, lived in New York for a year.<\/p>\n

Jason Taylor played 13 of his 15 NFL seasons with the rival Dolphins. But despite his history in Miami, Jason Taylor was emotional because his son will also play for one of the same franchises he did.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything,\u201d Jason Taylor said. \u201cTo me as a father, the sun has set on my career and I\u2019m done, but it is awesome to sit back and watch him. For him to walk in the same facility and the same locker rooms and that same path that I took, it is going to make me cry again, but I\u2019m not going to do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor is a large, athletic tight end who is also a fluid route runner, utilizing his high IQ to exploit holes in zone defenses. At LSU, he primarily lined up as an in-line tight end, but Taylor also can play as a slot receiver and on the outside, which he demonstrated for the Tigers during his three seasons.<\/p>\n

In addition to his large frame, Taylor is a smooth route runner who can regularly get separation from defenders. He also has soft hands, which aid him when attacking the ball in coverage and when he jumps to receive it at its highest point.<\/p>\n

Taylor needs to improve his blocking. However, he can add strength and work on his techniques at the next level.<\/p>\n

The Jets did not have Taylor in for a Top 30 visit, but they did speak during the NFL Combine in February. So did not get a strong sense the Jets were interested in him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just kind of kept my head down during this whole process,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cSelling myself to the best of my ability and being who I am and being honest. I don\u2019t think there weren\u2019t any tells for sure, so it was definitely surprising. But I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jets passed on Brock Bowers last year and also passed on Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland in this year\u2019s draft to select an offensive lineman two years in a row. But in a talented tight end in class at pick No. 42, the Jets couldn\u2019t pass on a tight end with the skill set of Taylor.<\/p>\n

Overall, Taylor, along with Jeremy Ruckert, should provide Fields with a security blanket during passing situations. He isn\u2019t as polished as Warren or\u00a0 Loveland, who went before him, but Taylor should be an above-average starting tight end in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: April 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Thursday night, the Jets fortified their offensive line by selecting right tackle Armand Membou at No. 7…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,687,226,280,49,48,15,688],"class_list":{"0":"post-367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jason-taylor","10":"tag-jets","11":"tag-mason-taylor","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-football","14":"tag-nfl-draft","15":"tag-taylor-warren"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}