The Seattle Seahawks liked Tennessee Vols edge rusher Darrell Taylor so much that they traded up in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select him.

Taylor, who totaled 16.5 sacks over his final two seasons at Tennessee, is a player that had first round talent. But because of this year's strange pre-draft process (which was essentially video chats only after mid March), Taylor didn't get a chance to raise his draft stock with workouts/meetings.

Fortunately for Taylor, one of the teams he was able to meet with before the shutdown was Seattle. And the Seahawks were clearly impressed with him.

Oddly enough, the coronavirus related shutdown is likely the only reason they were able to get Taylor in the second round. Taylor was actually the final prospect that Seattle hosted before the shutdown.

Taylor wasn't able to participate in the senior bowl or the combine after undoing surgery for a stress fracture that he played through in 2019. Meeting with teams was the only way the former Vol was going to be able to improve his draft stock. Had he been able to meet in person with more teams, he probably doesn't last until the second round.

So just how good do talent evaluators expect Taylor to be in the NFL?

The answer is…..pretty good.

Here's what an unnamed NFL talent evaluator toldThe Athletic this week.

Those two guys will be playing for a long time,” an evaluator said. “I liked Jordyn Brooks a lot. It felt a little early, but three years from now, people will not be looking at those guys as reaches. Darrell Taylor has natural rush tools and is a legit dude. That guy is going to develop into a legitimate rusher.

I wouldn't be surprised if Taylor's career mirrors former LSU standout Danielle Hunter's career.

Hunter put up very mediocre numbers at LSU, compiling only 4.5 sacks over his final two years in Baton Rouge. But he showed good potential as a pass rusher and he was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

Fast forward five years and Hunter is a two-time Pro-Bowler and the recipient of a five-year, $72 million extension.

Taylor has that same kind of potential.

And Seattle recognized it.

Even though the Seahawks had to trade up to get Taylor, they still ended up with one of the biggest steals of the draft.

Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports