Cam Taylor-Britt is a tenacious pit bull

Cam Taylor-Britt has been vocal and intense in training camp so far, which is completely in keeping with everything we know about him.

The Nebraska product is not afraid to speak up in the company of veterans. “He’s out there making rookie mistakes that are normal, but he’s also being very vocal,” said Mike Hilton. “If he’s wrong, he’d rather be loud and wrong than quiet and wrong.

And he plays with a certain fire. “I play like an angry pit bull that’s been locked up for 100 years, you could say,” he said. When you let me out of this gate, it’s going to get ugly.”

Bengals legend Solomon Wilcots, who was meeting with Taylor-Britt at the Precinct when we spoke with him, said of the rookie comparing himself to a pit bull: “When he locks hold on you, he don’t let go.” Watch the interview below:

Taylor-Britt is a natural-born leader. “My mom told me I was like this when I was six years and I was trying to get kids to come out and play football with me,” he told Geoff Hobson. Taylor-Britt was named a captain for the Cornhuskers, which Wilcots said “speaks to his leadership, his loyalty, and the determination he brings to the table.”

Of course, Taylor-Britt is also immensely talented and athletic. Wilcots was excited about the speed and versatility that he and the other 2022 draftees, Daxton Hill and Tycen Anderson, will give the Bengals:

Remember, these guys ran a 4.3 or better at the scouting Combine in their 40 time. So we know the Bengals have added speed in their secondary. But they also played multiple positions throughout their careers in football. All three guys can play just about every position in the secondary. Cameron Taylor-Britt was a quarterback in high school. He can play the outside corner, he can play the nickel or dime, he can play slot corner. Dax Hill can play nickel or dime, but he can also play free or strong safety, multiple positions within the secondary group.

On account of those tremendous skillsets, Wilcots believes the rookies have made the secondary a position of strength, saying, “I think the Bengals went from being maybe one of the more questionable areas on the football team to I think now one of the more solidified areas on the football team.” Listen to the interview in podcast form below:

Cam Taylor-Britt

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Age: 22

AD

College: Nebraska

Hometown: Montgomery, AL

Experience: rookie

Cap Status

He’s in the first year of a four year, $6 million rookie deal that will pay him $705,000 in base salary this year.

Background

As Wilcots noted, Taylor-Britt transitioned from quarterback to safety and cornerback at Nebraska. He was a big contributor on both defense and special teams with 11 passes broken up and a blocked field goal his senior year. In his four year collegiate career, he intercepted seven passes, defended another 24, forced seven fumbles, and made 140 tackles.

The scouting reports on him mention his aggressiveness in both positive and negative lights. At the professional level, he will need to learn a bit more about when to unleash his inner pit bull in both coverage and tackling in order to avoid getting beat by doubles moves and minimize missed tackles that result from taking poor angles.

2022 Outlook

While the hope is that Taylor-Britt can eventually take over for Eli Apple as the second boundary corner after Chidobe Awuzie, no one expects that to happen at the start of the year. Even if he doesn’t become a starter this season, he will probably still play a significant amount of snaps. Of course, there will be some growing pains, as he’s a rookie at a position that requires tremendous knowledge of the game and refining technique in order to keep up with the masterful receivers of the NFL.

Roster Odds

100%.