NFL making an example of Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor

Kansas City Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor was at the center of some serious rule-related controversy in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season, and it seems that controversy is bringing about change. According to a new report from Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame, the NFL's weekly training video sent out to all 32 NFL teams and NFL […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Sep 14, 2023 5:55 PM EDT

Kansas City Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor was at the center of some serious rule-related controversy in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season, and it seems that controversy is bringing about change.

According to a new report from Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame, the NFL's weekly training video sent out to all 32 NFL teams and NFL officials, highlighted illegal formations. The league says they'll begin to crack down on those illegal formations starting in Week 2, and we could see that as early as Thursday night in the Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles game.

Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino provided insight on the tape, which cited examples using RT Jawaan Taylor:

“On the tape this week at the very end, there are several examples of—and a couple from the Thursday night game with Jawaan Taylor—of tackles who are too far back. … That was emphasized on the training tape going into Week 2,” Blandino said. “I would expect, just from my experience, officials watch that training tape. It’s usually a very good learning tool, and it’s good for giving your officials direction. I would expect we will not see the egregious examples we may have seen in Week 1.”

Taylor wasn't the only player who had this issue in Week 1, there were examples in a number of games, including the Bengals-Browns, 49ers-Steelers, and Eagles-Patriots games.

Typically, offensive tackles are issued a warning that they're too deep in their stance. Taylor said in the locker room today that referees have warned him in the past about his alignment and making sure that he's not too deep. Rule 3-19-3, Item 1 in the NFL rulebook pertains to the alignment of non-snappers:

Non-Snapper. If he is not the snapper, no part of his body is permitted to be in the neutral zone at the snap, and his helmet must break a vertical plane that passes through the beltline of the snapper.

We'll see just how the NFL goes about enforcing the rules in Week 2. Given that it's a point of emphasis in the practice video, they might not be so keen to issue warnings as they have in the past.