Taylor Gabriel

Last updated

Taylor Gabriel
Taylor Gabriel Bears at Redskins 2019 (cropped).jpg
Gabriel with the Chicago Bears in 2019
No. 18
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1991-02-17) February 17, 1991 (age 33)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight:168 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High school: John Horn (Mesquite, Texas)
College: Abilene Christian
Undrafted: 2014
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:228
Receiving yards:2,860
Rushing yards:191
Total touchdowns:15
Player stats at PFR

Taylor James Gabriel (born February 17, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Abilene Christian, he signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He also played with the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears.

Contents

Early life

Gabriel attended John Horn High School in Mesquite, Texas, where he played football, basketball, and ran track for the Jaguars athletic teams. [1] In football, he was a three-year letterman at wide receiver, cornerback, and kick returner. He was an All-District selection as a junior after he had 47 catches for 588 yards and four touchdowns. He earned Class 5A TSWA All-State as senior in 2008 after totalling 90 catches for 1,354 yards with 13 touchdowns for a 4–7 team with the school’s first playoff bid. [2] He was also named APSE second team all-state and was the District 11-5A MVP. [3]

College career

Gabriel enrolled to play college football at Abilene Christian University, where he holds the record for most career touchdowns, from 2010 to 2013. In the 2010 season, he finished with 26 receptions for 295 receiving yards. [4] In the 2011 season, he had 64 receptions for 988 receiving yards and ten touchdowns. [5] In the 2012 season, he finished with 52 receptions for 684 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. [6] In his final season with the team in 2013, he had 73 receptions for 1,060 receiving yards and ten touchdowns. [7] He finished his career, second in school history with 215 receptions for 3,027 yards and 27 touchdowns. [8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 7+1⁄2 in
(1.71 m)		167 lb
(76 kg)		29+3⁄4 in
(0.76 m)		8+3⁄8 in
(0.21 m)		4.40 s1.50 s2.47 s4.21 s6.84 s40.0 in
(1.02 m)		10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		17 reps
All values from Pro Day [9]
Gabriel with the Cleveland Browns in 2015 Taylor Gabriel cropped Cleveland Browns New Uniform Unveiling (17153555281).jpg
Gabriel with the Cleveland Browns in 2015

Cleveland Browns

Gabriel was signed by the Cleveland Browns after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft. [10] [11]

Gabriel made his NFL debut on September 7, 2014, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, recording one reception for five yards. [12] In Week 9, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught 34-yard pass from quarterback Brian Hoyer for his first career touchdown reception. [13] He finished the 2014 season with 36 receptions for 621 yards and a touchdown. [14] In the 2015 season, he recorded 28 receptions for 241 yards. [15] On September 3, 2016, Gabriel was released by the Browns. [16]

Atlanta Falcons

Gabriel was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Falcons on September 4, 2016. [17] In Atlanta's Week 12 game against the Arizona Cardinals, he scored two touchdowns, helping to lead the Falcons to a 38–19 win. [18] In Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams, he had three receptions for 82 yards and scored one touchdown in the 42–14 victory. [19] He played a significant role for the Falcons throughout the season, which was successful and resulted in an appearance in Super Bowl LI, where they lost to the New England Patriots in overtime by a score of 34–28. [20] Gabriel had three receptions for 76 yards in the Super Bowl. [21] Overall, in the 2016 regular season, Gabriel recorded 35 receptions for 579 yards and six touchdowns. [22]

On March 8, 2017, the Falcons placed a second-round tender on Gabriel. [23] He officially signed his tender on April 22, 2017. [24] In the 2017 season, Gabriel played in 16 games with four starts, recording 33 receptions for 378 yards and one touchdown. [25]

Chicago Bears

2018 season

On March 14, 2018, Gabriel signed a four-year $26 million contract with the Chicago Bears. [26]

Gabriel with the Bears in 2018 Taylor Gabriel 2018.png
Gabriel with the Bears in 2018

On September 9, Gabriel made his Bears debut, catching five passes for 25 yards in the season-opening 24–23 road loss to the Green Bay Packers. [27] On September 30, 2018, he caught a season-high seven passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns in a 48–10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. [28] This was the second time he caught two touchdowns in a single game, the last time was with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. On October 14, Gabriel had five receptions for 110 yards in the 31–28 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 6. [29]

Gabriel finished the 2018 season with the Bears with 67 catches for 688 yards and two touchdowns. [30]

2019 season

Gabriel in a game against the Washington Redskins in 2019. Gabriel TD.jpg
Gabriel in a game against the Washington Redskins in 2019.

During Week 3 against the Washington Redskins, Gabriel caught six passes for 75 yards and three touchdowns in the 31–15 road victory, [31] though he exited the game with a concussion. He was the 35th player in NFL history to score three receiving touchdowns in the first half of a game and the first Bears player to do so in the Super Bowl era. [32] [33] Gabriel was also the fourth player in Bears history to accomplish the feat in one quarter after Red Pollock (1935), Frank Minini (1948), and Gale Sayers (1965). [34] Gabriel was forced to miss the following week's game against the Minnesota Vikings. Without Gabriel, the Bears won 16–6. [35] He finished the 2019 season with 29 receptions for 353 yards and four touchdowns along with 20 rushing yards. [36]

On February 21, 2020, Gabriel was released by the Bears after two seasons in a move to create cap space. [37]

On April 9, 2021, Gabriel announced his retirement. [38]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

YearTeamGamesReceivingRushingFumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2014 CLE 1623662117.37014102.58000
2015 CLE 134282418.65600000011
2016 ATL 1333557916.576T645112.827100
2017 ATL 1643337811.540T18496.115000
2018 CHI 16116768810.35429616.820011
2019 CHI 972935312.25343206.714000
Total 83312282,86012.576T14281916.827122

Postseason

YearTeamGamesReceivingRushingFumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2016 ATL 30917119.0370100.00010
2017 ATL 20242.070000.00000
2018 CHI 114379.319022010.021000
Total 611521214.13703206.721010

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References

  1. ↑ Wixon, Matt (February 3, 2017). "Former Mesquite Horn receiver Taylor Gabriel on playing in Super Bowl with Falcons: 'It's like a fairy tale'". SportsDayHS. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Dunne, Tyler (January 13, 2017). "Taylor Gabriel's Long Road from Grieving Teen to Falcons X-Factor". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel - 2013 Football Roster - Abilene Christian University Athletics". www.acusports.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel Statistics 2010". Abilene Christian Athletics. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel Statistics 2011". Abilene Christian Athletics. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel Statistics 2012". Abilene Christian Athletics. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel Statistics 2013". Abilene Christian Athletics. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Gabriel making most of NFL opportunity". Abilene Christian University. October 6, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  9. ↑ "2014 NFL Draft Scout Taylor Gabriel College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Do the Browns have a diamond in the rough in undrafted WR Gabriel?". FOX Sports. September 5, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Browns undrafted rookie Gabriel making case for himself in receiving corps desperate for help". Akron Beacon Journal. August 15, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers - September 7th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns - November 2nd, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  16. ↑ Gribble, Andrew (September 3, 2016). "Cleveland Browns reduce roster to 53". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017.
  17. ↑ Jackson, Zac (September 4, 2016). "Falcons claim Taylor Gabriel". NBCSports.com. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons - November 27th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams - December 11th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  20. ↑ Chadiha, Jeffri (February 5, 2017). "Falcons' historic collapse leads to Patriots' fifth Super Bowl win". NFL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  23. ↑ Conway, Kelsey (March 8, 2017). "Falcons Place Second-Round Tender On Gabriel". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  24. ↑ Bergman, Jeremy (April 22, 2017). "Falcons' Taylor Gabriel signs second-round tender". NFL.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  26. ↑ Mayer, Larry (March 14, 2018). "Roster Moves: Bears land five unrestricted free agents". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  27. ↑ Hurley, Parker (September 10, 2018). "Chicago Bears snap counts: Taylor Gabriel true WR2". Bear Goggles On. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  28. ↑ Finley, Patrick (October 1, 2018). "Good, bad and best: How the Bears fared in Week 4 vs. Buccaneers". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  29. ↑ LeGere, Bob (October 17, 2018). "Gabriel catching on fast with Chicago Bears". Daily Herald. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  30. ↑ Mayer, Larry (February 6, 2019). "Bears 2018 position review: Receiver". Chicago Bears . Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Trubisky, Bears get offense on track, beat Redskins 31-15". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  32. ↑ Scott, Jelani (September 24, 2019). "Bears' Taylor Gabriel suffers concussion vs. Redskins". National Football League . Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  33. ↑ Ponciano, Jorge (September 23, 2019). "Bears WR Taylor Gabriel is 3rd player in NFL history to record three first-half receiving TDs on Monday Night Football". Clutch Points. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  34. ↑ Mayer, Larry (September 26, 2019). "Chalk Talk: Who was last punter to kick FG?". Chicago Bears . Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Bears lose Trubisky, shut down Cook in 16-6 win over Vikings". ESPN.com. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Taylor Gabriel 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  37. ↑ Biggs, Brad (February 21, 2020). "Bears release cornerback Prince Amukamara and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, clearing $12.5 million in salary-cap space while creating 2 needs". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  38. ↑ Smith, Michael David (April 10, 2021). "Taylor Gabriel retires". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
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