Tag: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

Rookie Watch: Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson should solidify Cardinals’ secondary

Cardinals rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson has the skills to help Jonathan Gannon reinvent his coverage concepts.

Last season, the Cardinals had a secondary without a true deep safety.

Budda Baker played the most snaps at the free safety position with 380 per Pro Football Focus, while Andre Chachere had 198 snaps at the position, and Jalen Thompson had 174. But as Baker is most effective in a roving/hybrid role, Thompson is better nearer the line of scrimmage, and Chachere was a journeyman option more suited to a backup role, Arizona looked to accentuate their deep coverage in the draft.

Jonathan Gannon’s team did so in the person of Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, selected with the 104th overall pick in the fourth round. Last season for the Red Raiders, Taylor-Demerson played 485 snaps at free safety, allowing 20 catches overall on 35 targets for 221 yards, 112 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, four interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 65.0.

Taylor-Demerson is a rangy defender with good ball skills, and he’s pretty astute in the box and the slot as well. His athletic traits allow him to roam just about everywhere in coverage.

When asked after the pick whether Taylor-Demerson had the wherewithal to play deep safety right away for him, Gannon said that was the idea all along.

“Absolutely, he’s played safety down there for them. Really his best attributes I’d say are his range and his ball skills. He really has a nose for the football. I think he’s going to be able to play the deep half of the field and then we’ll see what else he can do. Versatility will come after that, but we think he brings a versatile element and range to the back half of the defense.”

Last season, only the Chiefs (67.8% of their defensive snaps) played a higher rate of two-high coverage than the Cardinals at 64.9%. Taylor-Demerson’s addition gives Gannon and his staff a lot more flexibility to throw different things at enemy offenses, up to and including the three-safety looks they often implemented.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Revealing the contract terms for Cardinals 4th-round pick Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

We have the numbers for the contract of the Cardinals’ fourth-round pick, safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.

The numbers are in for the contract Arizona Cardinals fourth-round pick Dadrion Taylor-Demerson signed last week.

The fourth choice in the round (No. 104 overall), the 5-foot-10, 197-pound safety from Texas Tech signed a four-year deal worth $4,866,844 that includes a signing bonus of $846,844.

The base salaries are at the league minimum of $795,000 this year; $960,000 in 2025; $1.075 million in 2026 and $1.19 million in 2027.

The contract carries a salary-cap charge of $1,006,711 that is below the top-51 cutoff of $1.055 million so it currently doesn’t count against the cap.

Assuming he is on the roster after the 2024 season, the cap charges will be $1,171,711 in 2025; $1,286,711 in 2026 and $1,401,711 in 2027.

As an example of the how the slotting system  works in the NFL, the contract of Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin, who was selected two picks before Taylor-Demerson and signed Monday, was worth $4,874,836 and included a $854,836 signing bonus. His cap charge this year is $1,008,709.

Patriots guard Layden Robinson, selected between Franklin and Taylor-Demerson, is unsigned. The player picked one slot after Tatlor-Demerson, Chargers defensive lineman Justin Eboige, signed for $4,859,012 with a $839,012 signing bonus and a cap charge in 2024 of $1,004,753.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals sign 4th-round pick Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

With the signing of Taylor-Demerson, only third-round pick Trey Benson remains unsigned.

The Arizona Cardinals have almost signed all 12 of their draft picks. On Thursday, they announced the signing of safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, their fourth-round selection, taken with the 104th overall pick in the draft.

He signed his rookie contract, a four-year deal. As a fourth-round pick, he will make the minimum salary each year and get a signing bonus.

Taylor-Demerson, known as “Rabbit” since he was a child, played collegiately for Texas Tech.

Taylor-Demerson was part of Touchdown Wire’s top 50 players in the draft.

Taylor-Demerson is 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds and is athletic. Built similarly to Budda Baker, he ran the 40 in 4.41 seconds and posted a 38-inch vertical leap and 123-inch broad jump.

He picked off 10 passes over the last three seasons, having at least three each season, and broke up 33 passes.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Best defensive scheme fits from the 2024 NFL draft

From the Cardinals’ new secondary to cornerback talent for the Eagles and Lions, Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar get into the best scheme fits from the 2024 NFL draft.

When teams select players in the draft, they’re not just basing those picks on the prospects’ athletic attributes — they’re also looking at how those prospects fit in the structures of their schemes.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group) discuss their favorite defensive scheme firs from the 2024 NFL draft. Greg and Doug already discussed their favorite offensive scheme fits in this draft, and you can find that right here.

  • The Arizona Cardinals’ secondary with cornerbacks Elijah Jones and Max Melton, and safety Dadrian Taylor-Demerson;
  • The Detroit Lions’ cornerback group with Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.;
  • The Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary with cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and defensive back Cooper DeJean;
  • The Dallas Cowboys’ defensive line with DL Marshawn Kneeland;
  • The Buffalo Bills’ secondary with safety Cole Bishop;
  • The Green Bay Packers’ safeties with Javon Bullard and Kitan Oladapo;
  • The San Francisco 49ers’ secondary with Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Expected role for rookie S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson for Cardinals in 2024

The Cardinals’ fourth-round pick should be a special teams player and some one who plays a limited role on defense.

With their fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. DTD is 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds, built similarly to both starting safeties for the Cardinals — Budda Baker (5-10, 195) and Jalen Thompson (5-11, 190).

He is very athletic and had incredible ball skills in college.

How productive was he?

He had 10 interceptions and 33 pass breakups over his final three seasons in Lubbock.

Drafted No. 104 overall, he was a top-50 player in Touchdown Wire’s big board.

What can we expect from him in 2024 as a rookie?

Well, with Baker and Thompson on the team, Taylor-Demerson won’t be starting unless someone gets hurt.

What he could reasonably do is supplant Andre Chachere in the third safety role.

The Cardinals used three safeties in dime packages on defense and in some big nickel packages, especially when Thompson was their main slot defender for the first half of the season.

Taylor-Demerson ideally will take over that role and then play on special teams.

Since Baker is entering the final year of his contract, Taylor-Demerson’s play as a rookie could allow the Cardinals to move on from Baker and allow him to get paid by another team.

We will see, but a perfect situation has DTD making an impact on special teams and then making a few plays in a limited defensive role as a rookie in 2024.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

How the Arizona Cardinals got themselves a whole new secondary in the 2024 NFL Draft

The Arizona Cardinals may have had the NFL’s worst secondary in 2023, and they addressed that with a passion in the 2024 NFL draft.

Last season, the Arizona Cardinals ranked dead last in Defensive DVOA, and only the Washington Commanders “led” by Jack Del Rio (until Del Rio was fired) and Ron Rivera were worse in DVOA against the pass. Head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t have a lot to work with in the secondary — safety Jalen Thompson was the only Arizona defensive back in 2023 who allowed an opponent passer rating of less than 80.0, and only Thompson had more than one interception with his four.

So, general manager Monti Ossenfort, assistant GM Dave Sears, and Gannon had a lot they needed to accomplish in the draft. Certainly in terms of draft currency, they did all they could to improve things with the selections of Rutgers cornerback Max Melton with the 43rd overall pick in the second round, Boston College cornerback Elijah Jones with the 90th overall pick in the third round, and Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson with the 104th overall pick in the fourth round.

Both Melton and Jones are true outside stopper cornerbacks, and Taylor-Demerson has the range to play the deep third, leaving Jalen Thompson to do his thing closer to the line of scrimmage. If all these guys pan out early, the Cardinals could have one of the NFL’s most obviously-transformed secondaries in the 2024 season.

“I had about 20 [minutes] with him,” Gannon said of Max Melton in the pre-draft process. “Just his seriousness and intensity, honestly. This guy’s a very serious person. The mentality that we’re looking for fits the price of admission and [after] having him talk through some things, I could tell he was very well-schooled, well-trained, well-coached, and he understood what they were trying to get done there. I really fell in love with his mindset, his attitude and his demeanor. He walked down and I was like that’s a serious person and I liked that.”.

Last season, Melton allowed 24 catches on 44 targets for 252 yards, 72 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, three interceptions, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 65.7.

As for Elijah Jones, he was one of the NCAA’s better true island cornerbacks in this class — he allowed 13 catches on 40 targets for 194 yards, 58 yards after the catch, one touchdown, five interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 18.1 — which means that opposing quarterbacks were better off throwing the ball into the stands than they were trying to get it past Jones.

Taylor-Demerson was one of my favorite defensive backs in this draft, and my favorite deep-third safety. I was happy to see that the Cardinals see him in a similar fashion.

“Absolutely, he’s played safety down there for them,” Ossenfort said of Taylor-Demerson as a deep-third defender. “Really his best attributes I’d say are his range and his ball skills. He really has a nose for the football. I think he’s going to be able to play the deep half of the field and then we’ll see what else he can do. Versatility will come after that, but we think he brings a versatile element and range to the back half of the defense.”

My scouting report agrees.

Rookie S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson to wear No. 42

The Cardinals’ fourth-round pick wore No. 1 at Texas Tech. His first professional number is 42.

The Arizona Cardinals open rookie minicamp on Thursday and their draft picks and other rookies will wear their professional numbers for the first time. As of Wednesday, the team had not announced the rookies’ uniform numbers but they were revealed.

The Cardinals’ fourth-round pick, safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson will wear No. 42.

He did not wear No. 42 in college for Texas Tech. He wore No. 1, which is not available because it belongs to quarterback Kyler Murray.

Devon Kennard wore No. 42 for three seasons and Dennis Gardeck did in 2019.

The most notable player to wear it was a safety like Taylor-Demerson. It belonged to Kwamie Lassiter from 1995-2002.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson another solid pick for Cardinals in 2024 draft

Taylor-Demerson is another player who could play significantly as a rookie.

After the Arizona Cardinals had seven total picks on Days 1 and 2 of the 2024 NFL draft, they entered Day 3 with five selections. Their first of the day, the 104th pick in the draft and their one selection in the fourth round, was Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.

Also known as “Rabbit,” Taylor-Demerson should excite fans.

He is built like Budda Baker at 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds. He is super athletic (4.41-second 40, 38-inch vertical, 123-inch broad jump).

And unlike Baker coming out of college, Taylor-Demerson is a ballhawk. Over his final three seasons in Lubbock, he had 10 interceptions and 33 pass breakups.

The Cardinals view him as a true deep safety, although many feel he can also plug in right away in nickel, a skill set very similar to those of Arizona’s Jalen Thompson.

Selected 104th overall, he was in the top 50 players for Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar. He was No. 132 for NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.

What is great about the pick is that he is exactly what the Cardinals need. They play a decent amount of three-safety groups on defense in dime. And if Thompson plays in the slot, they need a third safety.

Rabbit has much more upside than Andre Chachere. And with Budda Baker under contract only for one more season, the idea of a Day 3 safety who could develop and take Baker’s place in 2025 of they don’t plan on bringing him back is perfect.

He is a great value pick for some.

And while there were other players at different positions they could have picked, anyone you might have considered were at positions the Cardinals had already addressed before Day 3.

So Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in Round 4 deserves an A grade.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals take Texas Tech S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in Round 4

The Cardinals add a safety built like Budda Baker in the fourth round.

The Arizona Cardinals have added a third player in the draft for the defensive secondary. With their fourth-round pick, No. 104 overall, they selected safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson out of Texas Tech.

Taylor-Demerson was part of Touchdown Wire’s top 50 players in the draft.

Taylor-Demerson is 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds and is athletic. Built similarly to Budda Baker, he ran the 40 in 4.41 seconds and posted a 38-inch vertical leap and 123-inch broad jump.

He picked off 10 passes over the last three seasons, having at least three each season, and broke up 33 passes.

He is nicknamed “Rabbit” because of his playing speed and smaller build.

He entered college out of high school as a running back but converted to safety and added over 20 pounds while he was in Lubbock.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar: Doug’s favorite underrated draft prospects

In this week’s Xs and Os, Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar discuss Ricky Pearsall, Malik Washington, Renardo Green, Max Melton, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and Javon Bullard.

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into six of Doug’s favorite underrated prospects in the 2024 NFL draft — players who most likely won’t hear their names called in the first round next Thursday night, but who all can provide serious value to their soon-to-be NFL teams. Two weeks ago, we focused on “Greg’s Guys” in that same regard. Now, here are Doug’s favorites.

Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall — Will Pearsall be able to maintain his gliding speed, route awareness and amazing catches into contact at the NFL level? We’re betting on “yes.”

Virginia receiver Malik Washington — Washington is a shorter (but not thin) player who can create explosive plays all over the field; a team like the Chiefs (for example) should be watching as much of his tape as possible right now.

Florida State cornerback Renardo Green — Green projects well as an outside cornerback despite a lack of desired size, but how will his NFL team deploy him?

Rutgers cornerback Max Melton — In Melton’s case, his NFL team will love his ability to match receivers all over the field, and they’ll likely see the necessary technique fixes as a worthy time investment.

Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson — More than any other safety in this class, Taylor-Demerson has field-scalding speed when in coverage. If he can tamp down the more rogue elements of his athleticism, he could be an easy Pro Bowler.

Georgia safety Javon Bullard — Over the last two seasons, Georgia asked Bullard to completely change his positional profile in ways most college defenders are not asked to do, and he did it all very well. That should make him an easy prospect for most NFL teams.

You can watch this week’s “X and Os” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.