New York Giants Training Camp Preview - RB Taquan Mizzell

Despite having some prior and limited NFL experience, running back Taquan Mizzell is facing a steep uphill climb to make the Giants in any capacity.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Jul 1, 2021 4:14 PM EDT

Running back Taquan Mizzell went undrafted out of Virginia and was initially signed by the Baltimore Ravens in 2017. He came off a college career in which he became the only player in ACC history with 1,500+ career rushing and 1,500+ career receiving yards.

Ranked No. 16 all-time at UVA with 2,075 rushing yards and No. 12 all-time at UVA with 1,560 receiving yards at the time, he also finished his college career No. 2 all-time at UVA with 195 receptions, which also is the most all-time in ACC history by a running back.

Unfortunately for Mizzell, life in the NFL hasn't been as productive, at least not so far. After failing to latch on with the Ravens, Mizzell was picked up by the Bears, who claimed him off waivers at the start of the 2017 season.

Over the next two seasons, Mizzell appeared in 12 games with one start, rushing for 16 yards on nine carries and catching eight out of 10 pass targets for 78 yards and one touchdown.

He also contributed some as a kickoff returner, having returned seen kickoffs for 107 yards in 2018, a 15.1 yards per return average.

Because Mizzell has had a little better success as a receiver than running back, the Bears tried converting him to receiver before the 2019 season.

The experiment didn't work out as Mizzell failed to make the Bears 53-man roster that summer.

After being waived by the Bears, Mizzell was signed by the Saints to their practice squad. He got another chance at making a 53-man roster during the 2020 training camp.

Still, the Saints cut him on August 2, leaving him out of football until the Giants signed him to their practice squad on November 17, 2020, after a series of injuries to their veteran runnings backs.

What He Brings

At 5'10" and 1985 pounds, Mizzell is neither a big nor powerful runner nor does he offer top-end speed or power to his running game. In four seasons at Virginia, he had eight fumbles to just 11 rushing touchdowns.

Mizzell's ticket to the NFL looks like it will be as a receiver out of the backfield, where he's a natural, regardless if he's lined up in the backfield or split out wide.

Mizzell has good hands and runs polished routes coming out of the backfield. He's shown an ability to separate at the top of his routes against man coverage and has shown himself able to find creases to exploit for additional yardage and make would-be tacklers miss.

At Virginia, Mizzell averaged an impressive 8.3 yards per reception (7.4 yards average after the catch), recording six receiving touchdowns. But he also had 12 career drops in four seasons.

As previously noted, Mizzell has experience as a kickoff returner.

His Contract

The 28-year-old Mizzell is signed to a one-year reserve/futures contract worth $850,000.

Roster Projection/Expectations

Mizzell appeared to sustain some sort of injury during the team's recently concluded OTAs and could not participate in the mandatory minicamp.

Even before that, Mizzell appeared to be a long-shot at best for a spot on the 53-man roster and the practice squad as the Giants project to carry Saquon Barkley, Devontae Booker, and Corey Clemente as their running backs (and one of Cullen Gillaspia or Eli Penny as the fullback).

Meanwhile, for the practice squad, figure draft pick Gary Brightwell stands to be the leading practice squad candidate at this position.

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