Michael Taaffe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Austin, Texas, U.S.
 Taaffe at Texas in 2024 | |
| Miami Dolphins | |
|---|---|
| Position | Safety |
| Roster status | Unsigned draft pick |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 18, 2003 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Westlake (Austin) |
| College | Texas (2021–2025) |
| NFL draft | 2026: 5th round, 158th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Michael Joseph Taaffe (born February 18, 2003) is an American professional football safety for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Taaffe was born in Austin, Texas where he attended Westlake High School.[1] He played cornerback and wide receiver in high school. As a senior, Taaffe recorded 60 tackles and five interceptions while catching 18 passes for 297 yards and three touchdown receptions.[2] Taaffe's most notable high school highlight is intercepting Carroll Senior High School and future Texas Quarterback Quinn Ewers twice in their state championship game. Also, Taaffe helped lead Westlake to back-to-back state championship titles.[3] On November 5, 2020, Taaffe committed to Rice.[4] However, Taaffe was offered a walk-on spot at Texas and decided to accept the Longhorns offer.
College career
2021 Season
Taaffe was a walk-on at Texas and saw no playing time during his freshman year.
2022 Season
When Taaffe was a redshirt freshman, he played in 13 games totaling 26 combined tackles. Prior to the Alamo Bowl, Taaffe was granted a full scholarship by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian on December 18, 2022.[5]
2023 Season
During Taaffe's sophomore season, he amassed a total of 48 tackles and 3 interceptions.[6] This led to Taaffe earning honorable mention All-Big 12 and a Burlsworth Trophy nominee.[7][8]
2024 Season
During Taaffe's junior season, he earned SEC co-defensive player of the week and Burlsworth Trophy walk-on of the week honors.[9][10] Taaffe also earned second team AP All-American honors.[11] During the 2024 College Football Playoffs, a high hit by Taaffe led to the Big 12 commissioner to call for consistency in targeting penalty calls.[12] He ended the season with 78 tackles, 10 pass deflections, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 5 interceptions.[13]
2025 Season
Taaffe chose to return to Texas for his fifth and final year, forgoing the NFL draft.[14] After Week 3, he was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which honors 22 college football players for extraordinary commitment to community service.[15] In Week 6 against Florida, Taaffe recorded his first interception of the season.[16] After Week 7, he was named a Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year semifinalist.[17] In Week 8 against Kentucky, Taaffe suffered a thumb injury in the fourth quarter and missed the next two games.[18] At the end of October, Taaffe was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.[19] On December 4, he was named to the SEC Football Community Service Team.[20] On December 8, Taaffe was recognized as a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy at the award ceremony, becoming the first Longhorn in program to be selected as a finalist.[21] At the end of the season, Taaffe was named to the All-SEC first team and won the Wuerffel Trophy.[22][23] On December 15, 2025, Taaffe declared for the NFL draft.[24]
College statistics
| Year | Team | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | |||
| 2021 | Texas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Texas | 13 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Texas | 14 | 28 | 20 | 48 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Texas | 16 | 40 | 38 | 78 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | Texas | 10 | 38 | 32 | 70 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 53 | 119 | 103 | 222 | 9.5 | 3.0 | 7 | 54 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+7⁄8 in (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 29+1⁄4 in (0.74 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 0+3⁄4 in (1.85 m) | 4.50 s | 1.58 s | 2.63 s | 4.15 s | 6.80 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[25][26] | ||||||||||||
Taaffe was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 158th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL draft.[27]