Taylor Heinicke

Taylor Heinicke (born March 15, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).

Taylor Heinicke was born on March 15, 1993, in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

His father is Brett Heinicke.

Heinicke played football under head coach Kevin Reach at Collins Hill High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where he was an all-state selection as a junior after guiding Collins Hill to a 10–4 record and a trip to the Class AAAAA semi-finals.

As a senior, Heinicke was named the Old Spice National Player of the Year in the state of Georgia.

The award is presented annually to 50 high school varsity football athletes.

He was also the Gwinnett Daily Post Offensive Player of the Year after his record season when he threw for 4,218 yards, the second most in state history, and 44 touchdowns, which is the third-best ever in Georgia, setting Gwinnett County single-season records for passing yards and touchdowns.

He threw over 300 yards in nine games and also ran for 354 yards on 77 carries along with a pair of touchdowns.

Following his senior season, Heinicke was invited to play at the North/South All-Star Football Classic, where he collected 254 yards and three touchdowns en route to MVP honors after helping the North to a 22–0 victory over the South.

He appeared on the reality TV show The Ride, which featured high school quarterbacks competing for a spot in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

In 2011, Heinicke accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Old Dominion University (ODU), where he played for the Monarchs from 2011 to 2014.

As a freshman, he led the Monarchs to a 10–3 record in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) before losing in the second round of the FCS playoffs against Georgia Southern.

He passed for 2,385 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 1 interception, and he ran for 363 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He also punted 4 times for 170 yards.

Heinicke was named to the All-CAA third-team and was the National Freshman Performer of the Year.

In 2012, Heinicke led the Monarchs to an 11–2 record, losing in the playoffs quarterfinals, again to Georgia Southern.

That year, Heinicke passed for an FCS-record 5,076 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

He ran for 470 yards and 11 touchdowns.

He additionally punted 11 times for 475 yards.

On September 22, 2012, against New Hampshire, Heinicke passed for a Division I-record 730 yards and threw five touchdowns.

Following the postseason loss, he was awarded All-American honors, CAA Offensive Player of the Year, and the Walter Payton Award.

For the 2013 season, Old Dominion began a transition to Conference USA, meaning for the 2013 season, ODU was an independent team.

Despite this, Heinicke led ODU to an 8–4 record against mostly FCS opponents.

During the season, he passed for 4,022 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.

He ran for 348 yards and 5 touchdowns.

He also punted 13 times for a total of 539 yards, also kicking the longest punt on the team for the season of 61 yards.

During 2013, Heinicke became just the 18th quarterback from Division I to pass for 10,000 career yards and rush for 1,000.

His 2013 season marks placed him in the top ten among FBS quarterbacks in passing yards, passing yards per game and touchdown passes.

For the 2014 season, Heinicke led ODU to a 6–6 record.

During the season, he passed for 3,476 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.

He ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

He also punted 14 times for a total of 661 yards.

He played college football for the Old Dominion Monarchs and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2015.

Heinicke has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Washington Football Team / Commanders of the NFL, and the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL.

Heinicke went undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft, but signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent.

He competed against Mike Kafka to back up Vikings starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater along with Shaun Hill.

With Washington in 2020, Heinicke filled in for an injured Alex Smith in a playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He later started the majority of the 2021 season following an injury to Ryan Fitzpatrick, setting the NFL record for the most completions by a quarterback in his first three starts in NFL history.

Heinicke also started the majority of the 2022 season, after an injury to Carson Wentz.

Heinicke has been cited as an underdog by teammates, fans, and the media due to his ability to lead teams to wins despite a perceived lack of size and natural arm talent.