There are times in a football game when new Bears defensive end Darrell Taylor is so excited he can’t contain himself. Well, at least one time there was.
When Seahawks teammate Quandre Diggs intercepted Raiders quarterback Derek Carr's pass on the first play from scrimmage in a 2022 game, Taylor burst off the sideline to celebrate the play — except Diggs’ return was still going on. Diggs had fallen to the ground after making the pick, but was not touched, so he was a live runner.
Taylor tried to throw a block — what else could he do? — and kind of whiffed, and Diggs eventually was tackled. Fortunately for Taylor, his illegal participation was not noticed — not even on the replay of the turnover — and he escaped a penalty.
[I was] in the moment. I definitely will not be doing that here,” said Taylor, acquired by the Bears from the Seahawks for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick. “It was just in the excitement I have for my teammate because I’m passionate about the game of football.
“Obviously in the moment I wasn’t thinking because he went down [and] I’m like, ‘Oh my god, he [Diggs] got his first pick for the season.’ I’m excited and I try to go out there and celebrated it with him. But I won’t be doing that here, though.”
It was a brain cramp at the time, but also an indication of the high-motor that drives Taylor that fits in well with coach Matt Eberflus and the Bears’ defense.
“That’s how I play,” Taylor said. “This is what I always wanted to do all my life. I’ve been playing football since I was eight years old. To rush the passer, take the ball off the quarterback, punch the ball off a running back, get a TFL [tackle for loss], get a PBU [pass break-up]. Yeah, I love that. It’s part of my game and who I am as a football player.”
Taylor is a wild card in the Bears’ search for a pass rusher to complement Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat — joining DeMarcus Walker, Dominique Robinson, rookie Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy and Jacob Martin.
A second-round draft pick by the Seahawks in 2020, the 6-4, 255-pound Taylor has 21 1/2 sacks in three seasons, including a team-high 9 1/2 sacks as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme in 2023.
But his snap counts diminished as he struggled in the run game in the 3-4 early in 2022 and he became more of a situational rusher. Perhaps that’s why his face lit up when asked what he knows about Eberflus’ 4-3 defense.
“I didn’t know that much, but I know we’re a 4-3 defense and I’m excited to be moving forward — going straight all the time,” Taylor said. “I get to put my hands on guys and stuff like that. So I’m excited to be in this defense and just hearing from the guys, there’s an opportunity to rush the passer here and I’m excited to do that, too.”
Last year the Bears signed veteran Yannick Ngakoue at the start of training camp and were underwhelmed with the results — four sacks in 13 games. They chose Taylor this time, and while he doesn’t have Ngakoue’s resume (eight or more sacks in his first seven NFL seasons), Taylor is two years younger at 27 and deemed a better fit.
And his timing is better. Ngakoue joined a Bears defense lacking Sweat and still in the developmental stage. Taylor is joining a defense a full year older, with Sweat on the other side.
“There’s a lot of guys that have done that conversion,, from an odd front being only a 9-technique and be able to play defensive end,” Eberflus said. “I’ve had a bunch of those [in] my career. And it’s always worked out. … Those guys will flourish in that system.”
