Former Texas safety Michael Taaffe follows his Week 1 interception with nine tackles for Miami, continuing an impressive start to his rookie NFL season.
Michael Taaffe’s second NFL game didn’t come with the same highlight-reel moment as his first. But it may have been more revealing.
The former Texas Longhorns safety recorded nine tackles Sunday for the Miami Dolphins in a 35-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, giving him another productive performance just one week after recording an interception in his NFL debut.
For a rookie defensive back trying to establish himself, that kind of early involvement matters.
Taaffe finished with five solo tackles and four assists as Miami’s defense spent much of the afternoon trying to slow a San Francisco offense that controlled the game and repeatedly forced the Dolphins’ secondary into difficult situations.
The final score wasn’t pretty, but Taaffe continued to show why Miami has been willing to put considerable responsibility on him so quickly.
And for Texas fans, none of this should feel particularly surprising.
Taaffe built his college career on being around the football.
He went from walk-on to one of the most dependable players in the Longhorns’ secondary, becoming a starter and eventually an All-Conference caliber safety because of his instincts, preparation and willingness to tackle.
Those traits are already translating to Sundays.
Through his first two NFL games, Taaffe has produced exactly the kind of plays that can earn a young safety more snaps.
In Week 1, he intercepted a pass against the Las Vegas Raiders, immediately providing the splash play every rookie wants on his résumé.
Against San Francisco, his contribution looked different.
Instead of a takeaway, Taaffe became heavily involved as a tackler, finishing near the top of Miami’s defensive stat sheet with nine stops.
That’s especially notable for a safety because it shows he’s being asked to contribute both against the run and after the catch rather than simply playing deep coverage.
There is, of course, another side to that number.
When a defensive back is making that many tackles, it can also mean the opposing offense is regularly getting into the second and third levels. San Francisco scored 35 points, so nobody on Miami’s defense is walking away satisfied.
Still, Taaffe’s individual emergence is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Two games. An interception. Nine tackles in his second appearance.
That’s a productive opening stretch for a rookie who entered the league needing to prove that the instincts and physicality that made him successful at Texas would carry over against NFL athletes.
So far, they have.
Miami has bigger problems to solve after falling to 0-2, but Taaffe is quickly becoming one of the more interesting young pieces on its defense.
For the former Longhorn, the transition from Austin to the NFL hasn’t looked overwhelming.
It has looked like an opportunity.
