Taylor Rapp remembers what it was like to be a rookie.
A second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, Rapp saw firsthand the difficulty of making the jump from college to the NFL. But he had a mentor in the locker room: Eric Weddle.
Weddle, who played 14 seasons in the league and won a Super Bowl with Rapp and the Rams, took the rookie Rapp under his wing. Rapp knows Weddle didn’t have to. But his impact is now influencing Rapp to do the same in Buffalo.
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Bills safety Taylor Rapp, right, plays against the Jets on Dec. 29, 2024. Harry Scull Jr. photos, Buffalo News
“(Weddle) did just such an incredible job,” Rapp said last week. “And so blessed to have him be my vet mentor. And just trying to pay it forward and trying to give it to the young guys.”
At 27 and entering his third season with Buffalo, Rapp is now a veteran in the Bills safety room. He’s not the longest-tenured by the Bills – that would be Damar Hamlin – but Rapp serves as elder statesman, with Micah Hyde and Kareem Jackson – practice squad members last year – no longer with the team.
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Last year was a transitional year as Rapp became a full-time starter for the Bills. The challenge now is to maintain his level of play while bringing along a younger safety room. The Bills expect second-year safety Cole Bishop to take a step up, and in Bishop, Rapp has found a way to pay forward Weddle’s teachings.
“Very gratifying,” Rapp said on being a mentor. “Just me going through it and knowing how tough it was for a rookie, just trying to put myself in Cole’s shoes, which I was six years ago, and just try to pull them along with me.”
“You see a great jump from Year 1 to Year 2,” Rapp added. “That’s why I’m so excited for Cole Bishop, Year 1 to Year 2, the progression, the maturity, growing up. And hopefully I see a jump from Year 2 to Year 3 for me, as well.”
Last season, Rapp played 14 games for the Bills, with two interceptions, one forced fumble and 82 total tackles.
Bills safeties coach Joe Danna gets a daily taste of how Rapp is a positive influence on the collective bunch.
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“He’s a great leader for our group, very professional,” Danna said. “He’s been around a while, and kind of knows what it takes, and it’s just good for the young guys to be able to see how he does it, follow his leadership and get better every day.”
Every time Danna talks about Rapp, Danna brings up Rapp’s consistency. From the moment Rapp steps into the facility, he’s all about maximizing his time. Safety Darrick Forrest, who is new to the Bills this season, has taken note.
“I would say he’s teaching me how to have a routine,” Forrest said. “I see him every morning; He has a strict routine. He sticks to it. And I’m in Year 5, and I’m just now learning how to get my routine together.”
Rapp’s routine brings him success on the field.
“I’ve learned throughout my career, the more work I put in, the more ease my mind is during the game,” Rapp said. “And where I don’t necessarily have to control – I can’t control – the results, my mind is at ease.”
The mindset has been engrained in Rapp since he was young. He learned from his parents, Chris and Chiyan.
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“I really learned from my parents, just working hard, and bring your work ethic,” Rapp said. “And you always have in these long seasons, and in the performance business that we are in, sometimes you can’t control the results, and all you can have is to really fall back on your routine, and your work, your preparation, all that stuff.”
A new dad himself, Rapp now is looking to eventually pass along those lessons to his seven-week old son, Kailo. With the Bills’ OTAs and mandatory minicamp in the books, Rapp can spend more time with wife, Dani, and Kailo in Western New York.
“Just looking forward to me stepping into that role and being more at home and more present and stuff like that,” Rapp said.
With Rapp spending more time in Buffalo this offseason in anticipation of Kailo, he had added time to work with Bishop.
“It’s great,” Bishop said during OTAs. “I’m always trying to learn as much for my as much from him as I can. … So, just trying to build that chemistry.”
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