Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S Texas Tech: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Taylor-Demerson was a three-star running back recruit from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla. in the class of 2019

Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is one of my favorite day three prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. The former high school running back plays with terrific instincts and motor. Taylor-Demerson has accepted an invitation to the Shrine Bowl.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S Texas Tech: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year safety from Oklahoma City, Okla.

Background: Taylor-Demerson was a three-star running back recruit from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,956 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,873 for On3.com. Taylor-Demerson was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 73 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Utah State before flipping to Texas Tech. Taylor-Demerson was a star running back in high school. He produced 1,365 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in 2018, leading Carl Albert to its third consecutive class 5A State Championship. Taylor-Demerson’s junior season featured 215 carries for 1,977 yards and 22 touchdowns. He wrapped up his high school career with 4,611 rushing yards, earning a long list of honors along the way, including All-City, All-Conference, and All-State selections, the 2018 Oklahoma 5A Player of the Year, and the 2018 Big All-City Offensive Player of the Year award from The Oklahoman.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2019 Texas game, missed 2021 Houston game with preseason injury, exited 2023 UCF game with a groin injury, has a young daughter

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big 12, 2022 Second Team All-Big 12 (PFF), 2023 Second Team All-Big 12

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, cut down on missed tackles in 2023, more than 2,800 defensive snaps, healthy career despite being undersized, fluid hips, impressive linear speed, acceleration, impressive agility and fluidity, instincts flash in coverage, reads and follows the quarterback’s eyes, willing to get physical mid-route, physical and aggressive at the catch point, ball tracking, rakes the receiver’s hands at the catch point, quick to recognize and trigger on screens or run plays, quick transition out of backpedal into forward drive, good closing burst, motor runs hot, willing contributor in run defense, fits the run well when he’s patient, range in run defense to cover from the hash to the far sideline, wrap-up tackler, joins gang tackles to finish plays, competes to separate from blockers, quickness to elude stalk blocks

Cons: Undersized for the position, arm length is questionable, vertical doesn’t appear to be anything special, catch radius, range limited his ability to help his corner from Cover 3 single-high role vs. Oregon (2023), speed seems to fall short of elite, could do a better job anticipating and adjusting coverage for deep routes, bites on eye manipulation, looks uncomfortable in man coverage, allows too much separation at the top of the stem in man coverage, takes steep angles to the ball carrier, ducks head and throws his shoulder as a tackler at times, arm length can be an issue against blocks, lacks the size to challenge pulling linemen

Overview: Taylor-Demerson has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He has played more than 2,800 defensive snaps during his college career and has remained mostly healthy despite being undersized for his position. Taylor-Demerson has impressive agility and fluidity to complement his linear speed and acceleration. He ran a 21.60-second 200-meter dash in high school and is nicknamed “Rabbit.” That athleticism and speed support Taylor-Demerson’s instincts in coverage. He reads and follows the quarterback’s eyes to break on routes early or shift his coverage to take away primary options. The fifth-year safety aligns in single-high looks pre-snap, which sometimes rotate into two-high looks post-snap. He blitzes out of the slot and walks down into the box too. While he’s more than capable of making plays near the line of scrimmage, Taylor-Demerson’s strengths are best supported by a deep safety role that lets his survey the whole field, read the quarterback and routes developing in front of him, and build a head of steam when coming downhill to stop the run. He should still receive opportunities to venture into the box and slot (although not in man coverage). The All-Big 12 safety plays physically throughout the route and at the catch point. He has excellent ball skills and rakes the receiver’s hands at the catch point to cause pass breakups. Taylor-Demerson quickly transitions from his backpedal into forward drive to trigger on screens or run plays. He has good closing burst and a motor that runs hot. Taylor-Demerson is a willing contributor in run defense with the pursuit range to make plays from the hash to the far sideline. He’s a wrap-up tackler who competes to separate from blockers and occasionally showcases the quickness to elude stalk blocks. Unfortunately, Taylor-Demerson lacks the size to challenge large tight ends or pulling linemen. His arm length is questionable, which causes issues when he attempts to separate from blocks. The Oklahoma native takes steep angles to the ball carrier and sometimes runs himself out of plays. He’s also guilty of ducking his head and throwing a shoulder instead of wrapping up at times. However, he cut down on his missed tackles in 2023 and fits the run well when he’s patient. Taylor-Demerson has a limited catch radius and doesn’t appear to have a game-changing vertical. Playing single-high Cover 3 against Oregon (2023) revealed he didn’t have the range to help his cornerbacks along the sideline. That limitation likely takes frequent single-high opportunities off his plate in the NFL. Taylor-Demerson could do a better job anticipating and adjusting coverage for deep routes. He occasionally bites on eye manipulation. The college veteran allows too much separation at the top of the stem in man coverage and shouldn’t be tasked with man coverage at the next level.

Overall, Taylor-Demerson is an agile, versatile safety who overcomes some physical limitations with his motor and instincts, which he developed across thousands of college snaps. Taylor-Demerson will need to test well and crush the pre-draft process to compete for an early day three selection. His tape is exciting, but he falls short of elite in many key areas.   

Role & Scheme Fit: Free safety in Cover 2 scheme with a healthy dose of Cover 3

Round Projection: Fifth Round

Size: 5'11", 195 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 01-05-24