Sean Taylor became one of the most beloved players in Washington football history in his tragically short career. Now, his younger brother Gabriel Taylor hopes to follow in his brother's footsteps.
Taylor was a highly-productive safety for Rice over the last five seasons, finishing with 239 career tackles, four sacks and 10 interceptions. He was a second-team All-AAC performer as a senior in 2024.
While Taylor wasn't selected in this weekend's NFL draft, he accepted the Commanders' call afterwards, and will attend the franchise's rookie minicamp as an undrafted free agent.
𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 🤩
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) April 27, 2025
Safety, Gabriel Taylor has been invited to the @Commanders Rookie Mini Camp‼️#WE pic.twitter.com/t6uB3txcMw
Sean Taylor was the No. 5 pick by Washington in the 2004 draft, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods and second-team All-Pro honors in his brief career. Taylor was shot and killed in a home burglary in Nov. 2007, at just 24 years old.
Gabriel spoke about following in his brother's footsteps in a 2022 Sports Illustrated feature, and envisioned an opportunity like this.
"I want to wear 21 for the Commanders," he said. "That would be the cherry on top of the cake.”
It may be an uphill battle for Taylor as an undrafted player, but he will get his chance to make an impression next month, with Washington's rookie minicamp running from May 8–11.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Commanders Invite Gabriel Taylor, Brother of Franchise Great Sean Taylor, to Rookie Camp.
