Though he is not listed within the front office of the Pittsburgh Steelers as an official scout, former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor has been busy on the scouting circuit this offseason as part of the pre-draft process.
In recent weeks, Taylor has been spotted at the Alabama Pro Day and the Miami (Fla.) Pro Day, putting defensive backs through drills under the watchful eyes of not only Steelers personnel, but also scouts around the NFL landscape.
No longer in his playing days, Taylor is still around the game, and is leaning on his understanding of the game and belief in his ability to identify talent as part of his new life’s work.
Appearing on the latest episode of the “All Things Covered” podcast with co-hosts Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson, Taylor said that he never envisioned getting into scouting following his playing days, but it was something he was doing naturally during his time as a lockdown cornerback for the Steelers, and he jumped at the opportunity when it came calling in the form of Steelers GM Omar Khan.
Taylor stated that he’s on the college side of things in the Steelers’ scouting department where he’s most comfortable.
“So actually, I was doing it while I was playing. So they used to let me come up into meetings and just listen. And then, you know, after listening I’m like, ‘Man, this is what I want to do,'” Taylor said regarding his foray into scouting for the Steelers. “So, [Kevin Colbert] used to gimme a few guys, like five guys to evaluate, and I used to have the talk in front of everybody…and I did it. I ain’t really know what I was doing. I was just looking there from the standpoint, like I always felt like at the time in the locker room, we knew who was good and who wasn’t good.”
During his playing days, Taylor was always well-prepared from a scheme standpoint, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of receivers and quarterbacks he would have to go against weekly. That helped him largely take away guys in impressive fashion throughout his career, becoming that true lockdown cornerback on some great Steelers defenses.
That aptitude never left Taylor. Now, he’s putting it use in an official capacity for the Steelers.
“I always thought I had an eye for talent. I just need to put that down on paper when it came down to my evaluation. So I just wind up doing it, wind up learning the game, wind up understanding how they did it. So this don’t even feel like work for me,” Taylor added regarding scouting for the Steelers. “I feel like I could just do that. I love doing this. So, Omar always told me, ‘Man, if I ever get a job, just have your phone ready.’
“And Omar, he ain’t never lied to me. He wound up catching a job and he wound up giving me one. So from that point on, I told O, I said, ‘O man, I don’t wanna make you look bad, I’m all in with you.'”
Taylor has been all-in as a scout for the Steelers, getting an up close and personal look at some of the top defensive back prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft Class so far, lending his expertise to the Steelers at the position, which happens to be a major need entering the draft.
Taylor was front and center putting Alabama and Miami (Fla.) prospects through the paces in DB drills on the Pro Day circuit, and he even revealed to McFadden and Peterson that he’ll be at LSU’s Pro Day on Wednesday as well.
After winning two Super Bowl rings as a member of the Steelers, Taylor now wants to add more hardware to the organization, this time from a front office standpoint.
“I got goals, I got visions, I got personal stuff I wanna do. And one of ’em is trying to get a ring or two or three on the front office side. So I would like to help the organization and O get a few rings from that standpoint,” Taylor said of his role moving forward. “…I take it real serious. And to be honest with you, the Rooney family, Mike T[omlin] and O, they really embrace, and they really see what I’m doing. So, I think they more excited off of what I’m doing than I and doing it.
“They really feel like I trust my eyes. So, if I’m standing on somebody that I really like, I’m not changing my opinion regardless on what the whole room might feel like. And you know, so far, I’ve been hitting on the people I’ve liked and that’s doing good on other teams. So that’s just a testament to everything.”
It’s a great opportunity for not only Taylor to carve out a new career path at this point in his life, but it’s also a great opportunity for the Steelers to lean on a player who did it at a high level in the NFL, leaning on his expertise at the position. To Taylor’s credit, he’s putting in the work and really seems to love what he’s doing.
Hopefully the Steelers make him an official scout on their website soon.
Check out the full interview on “All Things Covered” with Taylor below.
