The Buffalo Bills announced that Tyrod Taylor would be their starting quarterback to open the 2015 NFL season and received a very warm response to the news from their fan base. Taylor was impressive throughout preseason action, although there are still quite a few question marks surrounding him.
According to Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, Taylor could be poised to be a future superstar for the Bills. Is that a fair assessment of the situation or did Knox go a bit too far with his prediction?
Taylor is heading into his fifth NFL season, but he has yet to see any legitimate action during the regular season. He spent his last four years sitting behind Joe Flacco with the Baltimore Ravens, which was excellent learning experience for him. While he is the best option that the Bills had at quarterback, it is way too early to say that he is a future superstar.
This is just another careless usage of the term “superstar” in the world of sports. Taylor definitely has the talent to be a very solid quarterback for the Bills and will make some plays for them in 2015, but he is far from being a superstar.
Looking ahead at the Bills’ 2015 season, Taylor is going to be asked to be a dual-threat quarterback and more of a game manager through the air. Rex Ryan doesn’t want him trying to force the issue in the passing game and would rather use star running back LeSean McCoy as an offensive workhorse. McCoy’s presence will take a lot of pressure off of Tayor’s shoulders and will be a major help for him.
That being said, Taylor isn’t going to be one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. If he can’t beat out those players, then there simply isn’t any way that he can be called a superstar.
At this point in time, there are only two or three “superstar” quarterbacks in the league. Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and perhaps Drew Brees. Those five guys are the only players who should even be discussed with that term attached to their name.
If the title had simply said that Taylor had the potential to become a “star” for the Bills in the future, that would be just fine. However, when the term “superstar” is used, that statement cannot be overlooked and has to be called out.
Needless to say, it will be very interesting to see what the future holds for Taylor throughout the next few seasons of his career.
Expect to see him come through with a very successful 2015 season for Buffalo, but he simply doesn’t have superstar potential moving forward.
