The Kansas City Chiefs introduced their new offensive tackle, Jawaan Taylor, on Thursday.
There has been some question about where Taylor might play, with reports indicating that he might make the switch to the left tackle spot for Kansas City. This would come after spending the last four seasons of his career playing right tackle with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Speaking with members of the media, Taylor explained that the team approached him about potentially playing the left side, noting that he’ll be happy to play anywhere so long as he’s contributing to the team’s end goal.
“Yes, I was definitely told about the left tackle position,” Taylor began. “But I think I’m definitely able — athletic enough — to make the switch over. Very, very versatile, so I feel like I can go out and make the switch pretty seamless. But, at the end of the day, if they need me to switch over and play other positions, I’m open to doing it. I’m just here to try and help this team win championships.”
As for what goes into making the switch to left tackle, Taylor explained to reporters that it’s all about the hips, feet and trusting your coaching.
“Left tackle, right tackle, it’s just a flip of the hips honestly,” Taylor said. “Other than that, if you’re athletic enough and you trust your feet. You’ve got great coaching as well, which I know that’s here (in Kansas City). I feel like the transition will be pretty good.”
The last time that Taylor started a game at left tackle was in 2017 with the Florida Gators. He reminisced about that opportunity and expressed his excitement to potentially revisit that in Kansas City.
“It was fun,” Taylor said. “At the time we had a couple of injuries on the team. We had to move a couple of guys around on the line. They trusted me to go over there and play left tackle for the last two games of the season. Now that I have the opportunity to play it again, I’m very, very excited for it and I’m embracing the opportunity. I’m just getting ready to go and I should be ready to go by the time we report back (OTAs).”
