Taylor Decker

BIOGRAPHY

Taylor Decker was born on August 23, 1993, in Vandalia, Ohio. He is a tackle in the NFL.

He studied at the University of Ohio and is an offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. In his early years, Decker attended Vandalia High School where he was a three-year starter for the football team at the left tackle position. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the 23rd best offensive tackle in his class. In addition to football, Decker played basketball in high school.

After he finished high school, Decker committed to the University of Ohio State where as a freshman in 2012, he played in all 12 games, where he played mostly on special teams and was on 22 snaps on offense. As a sophomore in 2013, Decker was a starter at right tackle, playing in all 14 games. He then moved from right tackle to left tackle his junior year in 2014 and was the Buckeyes only returning starter on the offensive line. He started all 15 games, including the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Oregon. 

After he graduated from college, Decker entered the 2016 NFL Draft where he was selected in the first round by the Detroit Lions and on May 6, 2016, the Detroit Lions signed Decker to a four-year contract. Decker started all 16 games at the left tackle position in his rookie season and was the only player besides quarterback Matthew Stafford to play every snap on offense for the Lions. He was named the Lions Rookie of the Year for 2016 in voting by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. In the 2017 season, Decker started the final eight games of the season at left tackle while in the 2018 season, on December 2, Decker caught a touchdown pass by Matthew Stafford, which was his first touchdown pass caught since he started playing football in fifth grade. On April 29, 2019, the Lions exercised the fifth-year option on Decker's contract.