Dadrion Taylor-Demerson NFL Draft Prospect Profile and Scouting Report

School: Texas Tech

Year: 5th Year Senior

Position: S

Measurables: 5’11”, 195 lbs. (measurements according to Texas Tech’s website). 5’10”, 189 lbs. (East-West Shrine Bowl Measurements). 5’10”, 197 lbs. (Combine Measurements)

Shrine Bowl Measurements: ARM: 30 7/8th” HAND: 9 5/8” VERTICAL: 38” BROAD: 10’3” BENCH: N/A 40-YD DASH: 4.41 seconds 10-YD SPLIT: 1.52 seconds 20-YD SHUTTLE: N/A

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was NOT recruited as a Safety out of Carl Albert High School in Oklahoma, but as a Running Back. He was ranked a composite 3-star prospect and the 1956th overall prospect in the 2019 recruiting class. With limited offers, Taylor-Demerson wound up committing to the Texas Tech Red Rangers over Utah State, Air Force, Army, and handful of smaller schools.

Known as “Rabbit,” Taylor-Demerson was able to make an instant impact on Texas Tech’s defense and special teams as a true freshman, despite being in the process of transitioning to Safety. He appeared in 11 of the Red Raiders’ 12 games that season, starting a pair of those games. During the course of the 2019 season, Taylor-Demerson had 16 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Still not a full-time starter, DTD started three games as a sophomore. All three starts came in the last three games of the season, with a majority of his stats being recorded during that stretch. He was once again a main stay on special teams. Despite playing one fewer games, Taylor-Demerson matched the 16 tackles he recorded as a freshman.

The 2021 season was when Taylor-Demerson started to make a substantial impact. For the first time, he started a majority of the games he appeared in (7 out of 12) and played at a high level. He was reliable as a tackler, with Texas Tech crediting him with completing “88.7 percent” of his attempted tackles over the course of the season, amounting to 62 takedowns. Per PFF, “Rabbit” was also a reliable coverage safety with an overall grade of 80.2—top on the team. With 10 passes defensed and a trio of interceptions to go with his tackles, DTD was an honorable Big-12 Selection at the end of the season—while remaining a leader on the Red Raiders’ Special Teams.

2022 was a monster season for DTD as well. In 12 starts (13 games total), he recorded a career high 74 tackles, 54 of which Texas Tech considered solo tackles. He doubled his career total for tackles for a loss, showing the instinct and ability to get involved in the run game. Taylor-Demerson graded out well with Pro Football Focus (74.5 grade, second among Texas Tech DBs). Despite the strong season, DTD was not named to the All-Big 12 Team at the end of the season, and taking advantadge of the extra year of eligibility granted by COVID-19, elected to return to Texas Tech for a fifth season.

The choice to return for a super-senior season was a good one for Taylor-Demerson, who asserted himself as a legitimate NFL prospect. His tackle numbers remained steady, with 72, and he recorded a career high 4 interceptions. DTD’s 11 total passes defensed (combined INTs and deflections) led the team. Perhaps most significantly—at long last, the elusive All-Big 12 nod was given to the man known as “Rabbit,” as he was named a Second-Team player at the end of the season.

Taylor-Demerson has had about as busy of an offseason as a draft prospect could have. Although he was not invited to the Senior Bowl, DTD attended the East-West Shrine Bowl and had a strong showing. PFF called him one of the highest risers from the Shrine Bowl, impressing as a communicator on the backend and coming up with an interception during the game. DTD further bolstered his stock with his performance at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, his strong individual performance standing out against a couple of weaker performances by other Safeties. His 4.41 second 40-Yard Dash was the best number recorded by a Safety, while his Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, and 10-Yard Split were all towards the tops of the position. He did this while weighing in at 197 lbs, too, higher than his listed playing weight at Texas Tech and his recorded weight at the Shrine Bowl.

Positional Skills:

Strengths:

Arguably the most athletic Safety in the 2024 draft class, with both speed and explosion.

A five year college career, three of which were as a majority starter, has DTD well positioned to make an immediate impact in the pros. He is very well seasoned, and it showed at the Shrine Bowl where he was an active communicator, organizing players he had spent all of a week working with—there’s some strong leadership qualities there, too.

DTD offers versatility in the defensive backfield. Given a strong sense of zone and his impressive football IQ, he’ll probably be at his best as a single high safety, but he has the quickness to take snaps from the slot.

Aggressively plays the ball. There will be some instances where he over-attacks and gets beat, but teams will live with it if he is able to come away with the ball (or at least a pass defensed) as frequently as he did in college.

Weaknesses:

Despite weighing in higher than expected at the Scouting Combine, DTD is a little short and a little light. Although he’ll be willing to try, he probably won’t be quite as much of a factor playing the run as he was in college because of those size limitations.

Struggled with the deep ball at times. WRs occasionally got behind him at Texas Tech because he couldn’t get his eyes off the backfield, and his deep ball tracking is suspect. This is one of his big areas for improvement in the pros, especially if a team wants to play him single high.

Five years of college ball is a double edged sword. Although he is seasoned, he is also a little older than most prospects—and a little more physically developed. Sometimes draftees in this mold look really good because they are physically more advanced; there is a lot of physical development occurring between 18 and 23 years of age. Sometimes, draftees in this mold are not able to adjust to the pros where everyone is physically developed. It’s a risk with DTD.

Fit with the Packers:

Although Safety is probably the biggest need for the Packers… this is a weak class, and some of the top prospects at the position put together really underwhelming Combine performances. If I am Green Bay, I might hesitate to take someone like Kamren Kinchens or Tyler Nubin in the first round and instead target some of the early-mid round Safety prospects, like Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. DTD’s athleticism and intelligence makes him a strong fit for Jeff Halfley’s new defensive scheme, and there is an obvious path to playing time. The Packers could target “Rabbit” in the third or fourth rounds—possibly towards the end of the second if they feel strongly—and get a quality player. He reminds me a little bit of veteran DB Rodney McLeod, though DTD is certainly faster. Like McLeod, DTD is an undersized Safety who wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, but turned himself into an NFL prospect with a long college career marked by impressive tackle numbers and ball production. There is an extremely good chance we see DTD in the Green and Gold next season. 

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