Dadrion Taylor-Demerson scouting report: Exploring the Texas Tech safety's strengths and weaknesses

A three-star running back recruit in 2019, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson appeared in 11 games as a regular on special teams and to some degree on defense (16 tackles). As a sophomore, he started the final three of ten contests and then broke out in 2021, when he took over one of the starting safetiey spots mid-way through the year.

Over his final three seasons, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson combined for 208 total stops, 8.5 for loss, two sacks, 10 interceptions, 23 pass break-ups, two fumbles forced and three recovered. He was recognized as a second-team All-Big 12 performer in 2023.

Profile: 5-foot-10, 195 pounds; RS SR.

Breaking down Dadrion Taylor-Demerson's scouting report

Run defense & blitzing:

• Charges up the alley in a hurry, tracking the ball and slowing his feet very well on sweep plays and swing screens to his side, making key stops to limit the potential for big YAC
• Shoots through the lane between pullers out on the corner and cuts down ball-carriers at their legs, to limit explosives on those types of plays
• Displays a good understanding for when to stay behind blocks or take advantage of chances to elude them
• When playing in the box or slot, he’s sudden with force responsibilities and dips the near-shoulder away from receivers responsible for blocking him
• Incredibly effective at flipping over guys with the ball in open space
• Blitzed off the slot a few times, where he times the snaps well and can dip underneath blockers to funnel the ball inside, and the Red Raiders also brought him a few times from single-high alignments, dropping down to linebacker depth as the quarterback gets into his cadence and then shoot through the open A-gap to flush the quarterback
• While he only got to rush the passer 16 times last season, exactly half of those resulted in pressures and he earned a 91.3 PFF grade in that facet

Zone coverage:

• Was regularly put in the deep post and made sure to stay deeper than the deepest
• Showcases easy range to line up on one hash and make plays on the ball at the opposite numbers when the pass hangs up in the air a little bit
• Does well to keep his shoulders square for as long as possible in two-high shells and only turning with skinny posts, streak routes, etc. when they’re about to run by him
• Excels sorting through the trash and allowing the eyes of the quarterback to lead him to the ball when buzzing down into the hook-to-flat area or as a lurker
• It never feels like Dadrion Taylor-Demerson surrenders more yardage than necessary with his angles, yet also doesn’t get burnt that way and effective twists guys down in space
• Understands that limited space in the red-zone exceptionally well, to take away throws at the back-line and can punish quarterbacks putting it up for grabs late
• Showcases impressive ball-skills for interceptions on overthrown passes, having to dive for the ball or reach behind himself

Man coverage:

• Anticipates routes and reads stems effectively to slide in front of and initiate contact with receivers around that five-yard mark, to take control of routes in off-man coverage
• Doesn’t look uncomfortable capping over number two in trips and matching that guy with 10+ yards of cushion
• Loose in the hips to flip and run with guys vertically even playing off while opponents are at full speed
• Showcases the route anticipation and discipline to not bite on excessive foot-fire to expand his snaps matching up with slot receivers in the pros
• While Dadrion Taylor-Demerson officially only spent 91 snaps in man-coverage and saw seven targets his way (according to PFF), he only surrendered two completions for 12 yards on those (39.6 passer rating)
• Missed a solid 10.2% of his attempted tackles last season despite playing from depth as much as he did

Weaknesses:

• Undersized with short arms (just short of 31 inches) and not much to his frame
• Can get caught covering grass as a deep post defender, gaining excess depth and seeing throws get completed in front of him
• Could definitely be a bit faster at keying on quick hitters, such as glances off RPOs and shutting them down right away instead of allowing receivers to gain momentum
• Would rather try to knock the ball out of the intended target’s hands by swiping at it compared to separating those two with a big hit when given a chance (such as on seam routes when playing the deep post)
• Wasn’t asked to just line up in the slot and play true man a whole lot, and when he did, it was with cushion and more conservatively

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson's 2024 NFL Draft prospect

Like I mentioned during the “my guys” episode, where I planted my flag on prospects at every position, I love for Dadrion Taylor-Demerson that he’s been rising throughout this process, but I hate that I now fall closer than consensus, compared to when he was still in the 200s on consensus boards back in early February.

He had a phenomenal Shrine Bowl week and then made NFL decision-makers take note at the combine, when he ran a 4.41 in the 40, looked tight in all of his transitions and made a couple of outstanding hands-catches during the on-field workout. I’ve been in love with his instincts, range and ball-skills since I first put on the tape.

For being a little undersized,Dadrion Taylor-Demerson doesn’t allow it at all to affect him in run defense and while the sample-sizes are both small, he was exceptional in man-coverage and as a blitzer last season.

Now, he’ll still need to work on how he manages space in deep coverage and how to handle situations when the ball is in the air but he can’t quite get his hands on it himself, but that’s sort of nit-picking. He does come in a little smaller package, but he take on and be valuable in basically any assignment on the back-end.

Grade: Third round