Receiver looking to regain 2017 form
He’s small, quick, productive and white, which means 49ers slot receiver Trent Taylor has forever been compared to Wes Welker.
One example: When he was a freshman at Louisiana Tech, Taylor’s teammates immediately linked him to the fivetime Pro Bowler.
“I don’t think they knew my real name,” Taylor said. “I think it was just ‘Wes.’ ”
Taylor obviously hasn’t been able to escape Welker.
And now that’s the case in a different sense.
Welker, 38, is in his first season as the 49ers’ wide receivers coach, and Taylor says he has endured plenty of razzing from teammates and coaches since the 12-year NFL veteran was hired in February.
However, Welker and Taylor are teaming on a serious task: to get Taylor back to where he’s inspiring those familiar comparisons to Welker.
After a promising rookie season, Taylor, a 2017 fifthround pick, failed to recapture his form last year following offseason back surgery.
He had just 26 receptions for 215 yards following a 43catch, 430-yard NFL debut that featured a strong finish: Taylor had more receiving yards (226) in the final six games of his first season than he managed in all of his second.
Taylor’s numbers fell last year after he had a procedure to shave down scar tissue in his lower back.
“I was trying to make it happen, but I didn’t have the strength to make it happen,” Taylor said. “So being able to have the whole offseason to gain that strength back and feel that explosiveness all over again, it’s been really good. … What makes me successful is my quickness and explosiveness.”
In addition to improved health, Taylor, 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, now has a position coach who used quickness and explosiveness to overcome his lack of size. Listed at 5-9 and 185 pounds during his career, Welker ranks 22nd in NFL history in career receptions (903).
“It’s been extremely helpful, honestly, the type of perspective that he brings,” Taylor said. “You can hear the way he thought through his routes, and that’s something that no one else can emulate. No matter how hard they tried or how hard they studied an offense: You wouldn’t be able to get those types of tips to find that edge that he played with. It’s pretty special stuff.”
Welker, who spent the previous two seasons as an assistant with the Texans, knew about Taylor before he arrived in Santa Clara. Welker studied him before the 2017 draft and appreciated how his instincts helped him lead the nation in receiving yards (1,803) as a senior and leave Louisiana Tech ranked fifth in Division I history in receptions (327).
“Trent has been really fun to coach,” Welker said. “That’s probably the easiest guy for me to coach not only because of his skill set, but (he’s a) smart kid. He understands the game. Understands space — all those different things.
“He’s been healthy this whole spring, which has really helped him, and he’s been doing a really great job.”
Welker, who went undrafted, maximized his ability. And Taylor, 25, said he learned something about doing just that as he endured a trying second NFL season.
Taylor expected to recapture his elusiveness once he was medically cleared, but he suggested the way he rehabbed from his surgery was a factor in him being largely a nonfactor in 2018.
“I didn’t realize how serious of a problem … it was going to be to come back from that,” Taylor said. “And how much I would have to put into it to really bring myself back to 100 percent. It was a growing experience for me just to realize how big of a deal it is taking care of your body and paying attention to every little detail when it comes to treatment and workouts.”