Jawaan Taylor's new jersey number is giving Falcons fans some serious PTSD

When Kaleb McGary retired, the Atlanta Falcons moved quickly to snatch Jawaan Taylor off the market on a cheap one-year deal. Taylor isn't the biggest signing the Falcons have made all offseason, but since he'll be protecting the blind side of Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr., he's surely one of the more important signings this new regime has made.

In fact, Atlanta has made a barrage of offseason moves as they usher in a new era under Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski. New jerseys, new era. But now we finally know what jersey numbers all of these first-time Falcons (and Olamide Zaccheus and Austin Hooper) are set to wear in 2026.

Fans typically don't invest any stock into a jersey number, but Taylor's choice has some recent painful memories resurfacing. The 28-year-old is wearing No. 71, the same number that Elijah Wilkinson wore for the Dirty Birds in 2025--so hopefully the bad omen of that number doesn't continue with Taylor.

Jawaan Taylor wearing 71 with the Falcons is triggering Elijah Wilkinson flashbacks

For those who don't remember, Wilkinson stepped in as Atlanta's starting right tackle last season after both McGary and Storm Norton suffered season-emding injuries in training camp. And for a third-string tackle, he was better than expected, but still was the obvious weak link on the O-Line.

The 31-year-old was serviceable for what he is, but the Falcons never want to be forced into a situation where someone like Wilkinson has to start for them again--especially with him protecting Penix's blind side. While he played a lot of snaps, his 11 penalties tied for fourth-most among all OL.

So even though he was durable, he did more harm than good to this Atlanta offensive line. And to make matters even worse, when Wilkinson signed with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency, he basically slammed the door in their face on his way out, referring to the Falcons as a "clown show".

He was publicly bashing the team in Instagram comments, getting into it with fans in DMs, and overall had one of the most classless exits you'll ever see. This was a third-string OT the team was forced to play mind you, and this guy was over here like acting like he's the second coming of Trent Williams.

Taylor, even though he has his own penalty issues, is an obvious upgrade. The Florida product had a rough year in Kansas City, but has much more proven production. He may not be glamorous, or any sort of long-term answer on the right side, but he's better than his predecessor, especially on a cheap deal with no guaranteed money. Hopefully he does No. 71 more justice on and off the field.

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