He played college football for the Florida Gators and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars ninth overall in the 1998 NFL draft.

[3] Taylor accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Gators from 1994 to 1997.

Taylor returned in 1996 to start two of the seven games he played, running for 629 yards and five touchdowns, and helping the 12–1 Gators win the national championship.

[4] In one of a series of articles about the top 100 Gators from the first 100 seasons of Florida football, The Gainesville Sun sports editors ranked Taylor as the No.

[7][8] Taylor completed his final class on-line for his degree in sociology and graduated from Florida in the May 2024 commencement ceremony.

[9] Taylor was selected ninth overall in the 1998 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the first of two picks they acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Bills in exchange for quarterback Rob Johnson.

Fans and media were highly critical of Taylor's tendency to get injured, questioning his toughness and donning him the moniker "Fragile Fred", which deeply upset him, as he would later admit.

[14][15][16][17] In an interview with Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com in November 2007, Taylor admitted he seriously considered retiring from football early in his career, because of the difficulties he experienced with injuries and Tank Black.

Taylor rushed for five straight 100-yard games in late November and December, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors.

Taylor said that it was clear to him that the organization was headed in "another direction" as a result of his reduced role with the team and the rise in his salary that was due to receive if he had remained on the roster.

Despite the fact that the injury was expected to keep him out until late in the season, the Patriots chose not to place Taylor on injured reserve, and instead de-activated him.

In 2010, Taylor played in the first three games of the season as a reserve before suffering a toe injury in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills.

On September 2, 2011, Taylor signed a one-day contract with the Jaguars in order to formally retire from the team that had drafted him ninth overall in 1998.

[24] His son, Kelvin Taylor, also played college football at Florida and is a former NFL running back who was signed to several teams.

In November 2023, Taylor joined Tim Tebow as a co-owner of a planned Jacksonville USL Championship soccer club.