Michael Taaffe’s NFL Draft hype is growing thanks to one overlooked trait

Former Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe recently participated in the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl, and despite performing well throughout the entirety of each play, scouts have started to catch on to his value before the snap as well.

At Texas, he was consistently lauded by the coaching staff for his ability to make pre-snap adjustments and make sure that everyone gets lined up correctly. There were multiple instances in 2025 where he made an adjustment when offenses motioned around the formation, leading to the Longhorns being put into a position to make a nice stop.

This type of awareness, leadership, and headiness is incredibly sought-after by NFL personnel in today's age, with the amount of pre-snap shenanigans that go on.

An anonymous NFL Scout recently told Alex Dunlap of Orangebloods.com that:

"He [Taaffe] might be the best pre-snap communicator safety in the draft."

Though Texas fans already knew this, it's great to see scouts at the next level publicly recognize things about players that make them great.

Taaffe was never the best athlete on the field, nor was he the biggest guy in the Longhorns' secondary, but his processing skills and field vision are what set him apart from other FBS safeties. You can "bash" him all you want for his lack of size at the NFL Combine or Texas Pro Day, but he's much more experienced and smarter than any other free safety in the 2026 class. You can take that to the bank.

Being able to do the things that he can led to Texas' passing defense improving by leaps and bounds going from 2023 to 2024. Though the Longhorns' defense struggled mightily in 2025 in comparison to the year before, it wasn't all on Taaffe.

Injuries ravaged the team's defense last year, and it was incredibly hard to get things back to where they were in 2024 due to that.

Regardless of what happened in 2025, one thing's for sure in terms of the future: Michael Taaffe is going to be one heck of an NFL player.