Washington Commanders

The NFL desperately misses Sean Taylor

Published Apr. 1, 2016 12:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

On April 24, 2004, the Washington Redskins drafted Sean Taylor out of the University of Miami with the fifth overall pick, and though he had less than four seasons to prove it, Taylor earned a reputation as one of the NFL's hardest-hitting safeties of all time.

April 1 marks what would have been the 33rd birthday for Taylor, who died in Nov. 2007 at age 24 when one of four men who invaded and burglarized his home shot and killed him.

"God made certain people play football, for sure" said former Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs. "And [Taylor] was one of them."

On the first defensive series in the first game the Redskins played after his death, in a home game against the Bills, the team lined up with only 10 men on the field to honor Taylor, sending chills throughout FedExField:

Listen to former teammate and draft classmate, tight end Chris Cooley, recall the time that Taylor skipped out on the NFL's Rookie Symposium:

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Taylor earned the first of his two Pro Bowl honors in 2006 after amassing 111 tackles, six passes, three forced fumbles and an interception. He was the kind of safety whose footsteps would make receivers' ears perk up (watch some of his hardest hits here).

And he only knew one speed: full speed. Case in point, the time he crushed punter Brian Moorman at the 2006 Pro Bowl:

"Fans say, 'Make sure you live up to the hype of Sean Taylor,' " Goldson said. "For me to be mentioned in his name speaks volumes. But I'm no Sean Taylor."