Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, SAF, Texas Tech
Size:
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 197 pounds
Arm Length: 30 7/8"
Hand Size: 9 5/8"
Accomplishments:
Second Team All-Big 12 (2023) • All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (2021)
“Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is an alignment-versatile defensive back whose best plays are made in coverage where he can track the ball and create turnovers using his instincts and ball skills.”
Strengths:
Ball skills
Alignment-versatile
Fluid mover
Scheme-versatile player
Concerns:
Size
Physicality tackling
Discipline in the run game
Film Analysis:
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson enters the 2024 NFL Draft as a fifth-year senior who has played in 50 career games. Taylor-Demerson had his most productive season in terms of tackles and interceptions in 2023, proving to have the instincts for finding the football.
In pass coverage, Taylor-Demerson is a versatile alignment defensive back who can align 20 yards off the ball in the deep safety position, align at the strong safety position, and also align in the nickel position, making him a difficult player to track for opposing offenses. From the deep safety position, Taylor-Demerson uses his instincts and sideline-to-sideline range to make plays on the football and disrupt big play attempts by the offense. Taylor-Demerson does a good job of anticipating route combinations, which gives him a great jump on the throw and puts him in position to make a play on the football.
Aligning closer to the line of scrimmage at the strong safety or nickel position, Taylor-Demerson's athletic traits of short-area quickness and fluid movements put him in position to be productive. Taylor-Demerson has good instincts and anticipates routes well and makes plays on the football. Taylor-Demerson can jump short to intermediate routes making plays on the football. Taylor-Demerson's athletic profile also allows him to be effective in both zone coverage and man coverage to stay in phase with receivers in the slot.
Taylor-Demerson's improvements/concerns as a player have to do with his ability to be a consistent high-level tackler. Taylor-Demerson lacks a strong physically imposing frame and with that being the case, he often dives at the ankles of ball-carriers to wrap and roll. The concern with this is that a powerful ball-carrier will be able to run through arm tackles. Plus, on short-yardage plays where every inch matters, he may not have the power to stop ball-carriers in the hole to prevent them from picking up important yardage.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Adequate Starter
Written By: Keith Sanchez
Exposures: TCU (2023), Kansas (2023), Oregon (2023)
