Category profile
- Dominance
- 90
- Peak
- 94
- Longevity
- 80
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 88
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 9.5 | |
| 1982 | 7.5 | |
| 1983 | 9 | |
| 1984 | 11.5 | |
| 1985 | 13 | |
| 1986 | 20.5 | |
| 1987 | 12 | |
| 1988 | 15.5 | |
| 1989 | 15 | |
| 1990 | 10.5 | |
| 1991 | 7 | |
| 1992 | 5 | |
| 1993 | 6 |
Data sources
- NFL
- Pro Football Reference
- Olympics.com
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Lawrence Taylor ranks #20 in American Football
Lawrence Taylor ranks 20th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 463rd of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.1 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 90, Peak 94, Longevity 80, Honours 88, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 378 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1981–1993 with 13 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1986, which sets the Peak component at 94. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes mvp awards 1, defensive player of the year 3, super bowl titles 2, career sacks 132.5.
Immediately ahead sits Rod Woodson on 85.6, a gap of -2.5 points. Directly behind is Mike Webster on 85.8. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Lawrence Taylor GOAT Score explained
- Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Taylor stood above the field while competing. Scored 90/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak94/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1986. Scored 94/100.
- Longevity80/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 12 years of competition and 13 recorded seasons. Scored 80/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.
Top Taylor comparisons
Lawrence Taylor — frequently asked
- Is Lawrence Taylor the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Lawrence Taylor ranks 20th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 88.1, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Lawrence Taylor's GOAT Score?
- 88.1 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 80 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Lawrence Taylor rank all time?
- 463rd of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 20th within American Football.
- Lawrence Taylor vs Rod Woodson: who ranks higher?
- Lawrence Taylor, on 88.1 against Rod Woodson's 85.6 — a margin of 2.5 points.