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.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Safety, Texas Tech
PLUSES
— Functional field speed is singularly impressive; Taylor-Demerson can get from Point A to Point B as quickly as any defender in this draft class. It's hard for quarterbacks and receivers to get a bead on his positioning in… pic.twitter.com/8g1XKdEDXG
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 18, 2024
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.
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