After turning heads at the 2013 scouting combine, Miami Dolphins cornerback Jamar Taylor produced a rookie season that consisted of just 45 snaps and nine games.
It's hard to blame Taylor for the disappointing start to his NFL career.
Dolphins doctors determined that the second-round draft pick needed hernia surgery in May 2013. The catch was that kidney damage discovered at that year's scouting combine prevented Taylor from taking anti-inflammatories, extending his recovery timetable.
By the time Taylor finally hit the field in late September, he was hopelessly lost.
"It was to the point last year I thought I was done playing football," Taylor recently told the Idaho Statesman. "I didn't want to play anymore. I was out of it.
"Thank God for my girlfriend, my family, my pastors and God -- because I made it through and kept working. I'm really looking forward to this year. I'm going to turn a lot of heads."
Taylor explained that last year's injuries had a demoralizing effect once he realized he wasn't the same player he had been at Boise State.
Now that Taylor is back to full health, he and 2013 third-round pick Will Daviswill be given every opportunity to beat out veteran Cortland Finnegan for the starting job opposite Brent Grimes, according to The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson.
"(Taylor and Davis) are guys we thought highly of," coach Joe Philbin explained. "They had injury issues."
The Dolphins showed their faith in the two inexperienced cornerbacks by allowing Nolan Carroll and Dimitri Patterson to sign with the Eagles and Jets, respectively.
Finnegan insists his "edge" is back after losing it last season. Taylor might have a fight on his hands this summer.
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