ALLEN PARK >> Taylor Decker’s tattoos provide much insight into the type of person he is off the football field.
Across his chest, near his heart (we’ll have to take his word for it) he has an inked lion wearing an Indian headdress. It’s in memory of his grandmother who had a similar Lions statue at her home which now belongs to her grandson.
Decker, the Lions first pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, said he’s only about one-sixteenth Native American, but he got the tattoo after his grandmother passed to remember her.
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It seems kind of fitting that he already has a Lion tattoo.
Decker, who is 6-foot-7, also has tattoos on his arms representing the military to honor his brothers who served in the Marine Corps and Navy.
“I have a ton of respect for military. A lot of my family has served. Stuff like that puts football into perspective,” Decker said in his introductory press conference on Friday at the Lions practice facility.
“He’s a guy who checks off all the boxes for us – toughness, athleticism, size, intelligence. He’s a guy who’s been in a program that won a lot of football games. He understands what winning is all about,” coach Jim Caldwell said by way of introduction.
Decker said he was thrilled to receive a text message from Matthew Stafford on Friday morning congratulating him and welcoming him to the Lions.
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It’s uncertain if he’ll play left tackle or right. He’ll be in competition with Riley Reiff and says he just happy to have the opportunity.
Here are five things to know about Decker:
1. His reasons for enjoying football are basic. “The competitiveness and the physicality of the sport. It’s fun going out there and competing against some of the best athletes in the world and just the physicality of it especially in the trenches the O-line vs. the D-line. I enjoy that, the competition is fun especially doing that with your teammates, guys you care about,” Decker said.
2. He said the physicality of being a good run blocker starts with a mindset of wanting to finish blocks. “Just reps, we (at Ohio State) do a ton of reps, one-on-one at practice and our defensive line was a good line to practice against and we had one of the best running backs (Ezekiel Elliott) in the country. The Buckeyes rushed for 369 yards in the win at Michigan in 2015.
3. Decker had the good fortune to practice against defensive end Joey Bosa, the third overall pick in the draft. “It was physical, there were battles, he won some and I won some. So it was awesome to have a guy like him to be able to develop my game. He was huge for me in that,” Decker said. Coach Urban Meyer would flop Bosa to right side just so the two could match up against each other.
4. He’s a leader who served as a captain at Ohio State. “Just growing up those were the kind of values instilled in me – high character, discipline, responsibility and respect,” Decker said. “I think that’s suited me well in my football career. As a leader you have to have respect for people, but you also have to tell them, especially in college, when things aren’t going so well and when they are. I’ve always been a lead-by-example guy in my college career.” Caldwell is huge on the leadership characteristic.
5. Because he played in the Ohio State-Michigan games in what he considers the best rivalry in college football, he’s excited about moving to the Great Lakes State. “Playing there I obviously have seen the state of Michigan is very passionate about football. I have a lot of respect for that,” Decker said. “I’m looking forward to being up here with a passionate fan base, people who love football. If you play football you’ll love that and gravitate toward it.”
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