It stands to reason that a lot of players in the NFL today, particularly among the younger current members of teams, grew up wanting to be Sean Taylor. A top prospect out of Miami who was the fifth-overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Taylor spent four years in the league, making the Pro Bowl in his third and fourth seasons and the first-team All-Pro list in 2007, before he was murdered late that season.
While he himself did not necessarily have the cleanest record off the field—and was wrongly used as a contributing factor in his death in the immediate aftermath before the details were actually revealed—Taylor’s untimely demise was felt all around the football community.