Fred Taylor (American football) facts for kids
Taylor in 2008
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 27, 1976 Pahokee, Florida, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Glades Central (Belle Glade, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Florida (1994–1997) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Frederick Antwon Taylor, born on January 27, 1976, is a former American football player. He played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. His career lasted from 1998 to 2010.
He played college football for the Florida Gators. The Jacksonville Jaguars picked him ninth in the 1998 NFL draft. Taylor played for the Jaguars and the New England Patriots. He is also part of the special "10,000 yard rushing club" for players with many rushing yards. Today, he co-hosts "The Pivot Podcast" with his friends Channing Crowder and Ryan Clark.
Contents
Early Life and High School Football
Fred Taylor was born in Pahokee, Florida, on January 27, 1976. He went to Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Florida. There, he was a star football player for the Glades Central Raiders. He also ran track.
Fred first played as a linebacker. But in his junior year, he switched to running back. As a senior, he ran for 1,700 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. In one game, he ran for 301 yards and scored 5 touchdowns! He earned top honors in Florida for his skills.
In 2007, years after he finished high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) named him one of the "100 Greatest Players" in Florida high school football history.
In track & field, Fred was a fast sprinter. He ran the 100 meters in 10.85 seconds and the 200 meters in 22.32 seconds. He was also part of the school's 4 × 100 meter relay team.
College Career with the Florida Gators
Fred Taylor received a sports scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville. He played for coach Steve Spurrier's Gators from 1994 to 1997.
As a freshman, Fred started two games. He gained 873 yards and scored eight touchdowns. In 1995, his sophomore year, he played in six games. He gained 281 yards and scored five touchdowns.
In 1996, Fred returned to play in seven games, starting two. He ran for 629 yards and five touchdowns. He helped the Gators win the national championship that year.
As a senior in 1997, Fred was a team captain. He was the team's best rusher with 1,292 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and a third-team All-American. His teammates also chose him as the Gators' most valuable player.
He finished his college career with 3,075 yards and 31 touchdowns. This placed him fourth in school history for both stats. In 2008, he was added to the Florida–Georgia Hall of Fame. In 2010, he joined the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. Fred finished his college degree in sociology online and graduated in May 2024.
Professional Football Career
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars picked Fred Taylor ninth overall in the 1998 NFL draft. This was their first pick from a trade with the Buffalo Bills.
As a rookie in 1998, Fred started 12 of 15 games for the Jaguars. He rushed for 1,223 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. This was his career high for touchdowns. He also caught 44 passes for 421 yards and three more touchdowns.
In 1999, Fred played in ten games, starting nine. He missed six games because of a hamstring injury. He still had 732 yards rushing. In the playoffs, he had two games with over 100 rushing yards. He also made the longest run in playoff history: a 90-yard touchdown run against Miami.
In 2000, he missed three and a half games. But he still finished sixth in the NFL with 1,399 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught 36 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. In 2001, he played only two games before a groin injury ended his season.
From 1999 to 2001, Fred missed 23 games due to injuries. Fans and media often called him "Fragile Fred." This nickname upset him a lot. Even though his season was over in 2001, his coach kept listing him as "questionable" for every game. This made fans doubt his toughness even more.
In 2002, Fred bounced back. He started all 16 games for the Jaguars. He finished with 1,314 yards, the third-most in team history. He also set a team record with 1,722 total yards from scrimmage. He caught a career-high 49 passes for 408 yards and scored eight touchdowns.
He started all 16 games again in 2003. He set another career high with 1,572 yards on 345 carries, scoring six touchdowns. He also caught 48 passes for 370 yards. In 2004, he started the first 14 games. He gained 1,224 yards and scored two touchdowns. A knee injury stopped his streak of 46 straight starts.
Injuries affected Fred again in 2005. He started 11 games but missed five. He still led the team with 787 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In 2006, Maurice Jones-Drew joined the Jaguars. He was a new running back who would eventually replace Fred.
Even with sharing carries, Fred started 15 games in 2006. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry, with 1,146 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 242 yards and one touchdown. Together, Fred and Jones-Drew gained 2,087 yards. This was the most by two rushers in Jaguars history.
As a team captain in 2007, Fred rushed for 1,202 yards in 15 games. He had a career-best average of 5.4 yards per carry. On November 11, he passed 10,000 career rushing yards in a game against the Tennessee Titans. He rushed for over 100 yards in five straight games in late 2007. This earned him the AFC Offensive Player of the Month award. He also had four runs of 50-plus yards, tying for first in the NFL. After the season, he was named to the Associated Press second-team All-Pro team. He also went to the 2008 Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. This was his first Pro Bowl honor.
In his last season with the Jaguars in 2008, Fred started the first 13 games. He was then placed on injured reserve for the first time due to a thumb injury. He passed both 11,000 career rushing yards and 13,000 career all-purpose yards that year. He finished the season with 556 yards.
On February 16, 2009, the Jaguars released Fred Taylor after 11 seasons.
New England Patriots
Fred Taylor signed a two-year contract with the New England Patriots on February 27, 2009. He played in the first four games for the Patriots. He started one game before an ankle injury in Week 4. The Patriots did not put him on injured reserve. Instead, they kept him inactive.
Fred returned to play in Week 16 against his old team, the Jaguars. He rushed for 35 yards on 11 carries. He finished the 2009 season with 269 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2010, Fred played in the first three games as a backup. He then got a toe injury in Week 3. He was inactive until Week 12. He played his first snaps since Week 3 in Week 13 against the New York Jets. Fred played in seven games total, all as a backup. He ran 43 times for 155 yards and no touchdowns.
Retirement
On September 2, 2011, Fred Taylor signed a special one-day contract with the Jaguars. This allowed him to officially retire as a player for the team that first drafted him.
On June 7, 2012, the Jaguars announced that Fred Taylor would be the second player added to the "Pride of the Jaguars." This is a special honor for important players. He was officially honored on September 30 during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
NFL Career Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost | |||||||
| 1998 | JAX | 15 | 264 | 1,223 | 4.6 | 77 | 14 | 58 | 44 | 421 | 9.6 | 78 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 1999 | JAX | 10 | 159 | 732 | 4.6 | 52 | 6 | 38 | 10 | 83 | 8.3 | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2000 | JAX | 13 | 292 | 1,399 | 4.8 | 71 | 12 | 73 | 36 | 240 | 6.7 | 19 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| 2001 | JAX | 2 | 30 | 116 | 3.9 | 24 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 2002 | JAX | 16 | 287 | 1,426 | 4.6 | 63 | 8 | 47 | 49 | 408 | 8.3 | 72 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 2003 | JAX | 16 | 345 | 1,572 | 4.6 | 62 | 6 | 77 | 48 | 370 | 7.7 | 60 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 4 | ||||
| 2004 | JAX | 14 | 260 | 1,224 | 4.7 | 46 | 2 | 48 | 36 | 345 | 9.6 | 64 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 2005 | JAX | 11 | 194 | 787 | 4.1 | 71 | 3 | 26 | 13 | 83 | 6.4 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2006 | JAX | 15 | 231 | 1,146 | 5.0 | 76 | 5 | 46 | 23 | 242 | 10.5 | 36 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 2007 | JAX | 15 | 223 | 1,202 | 5.4 | 80 | 5 | 45 | 9 | 58 | 6.4 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2008 | JAX | 13 | 143 | 556 | 3.9 | 34 | 1 | 24 | 16 | 98 | 6.1 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 2009 | NE | 6 | 63 | 269 | 4.3 | 19 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 2010 | NE | 7 | 43 | 155 | 3.6 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 153 | 2,534 | 11,695 | 4.6 | 80 | 66 | 510 | 290 | 2,384 | 8.2 | 78 | 8 | 97 | 27 | 18 | |||||
Jacksonville Jaguars Records
As of 2017, Fred Taylor held many records for the Jaguars, including:
- Most career rush attempts (2,428)
- Most rushing yards in a career (11,271)
- Most rushing touchdowns in a rookie season (14 in 1998)
- Most 100+ yard rushing games in a career (51)
- Most seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards (7)
Personal Life
Fred Taylor is a first cousin to NFL wide receiver Santonio Holmes. His son, Kelvin Taylor, also played college football at Florida. Kelvin also played as a running back for several NFL teams.
In November 2023, Fred Taylor became a co-owner of a new USL Championship soccer club in Jacksonville. He shares ownership with Tim Tebow.
See also
- Florida Gators football, 1990–99
- List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
- List of Florida Gators in the NFL draft
- List of Jacksonville Jaguars first-round draft picks
- List of New England Patriots players
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
