After the Arizona Cardinals had seven total picks on Days 1 and 2 of the 2024 NFL draft, they entered Day 3 with five selections. Their first of the day, the 104th pick in the draft and their one selection in the fourth round, was Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.
Also known as “Rabbit,” Taylor-Demerson should excite fans.
He is built like Budda Baker at 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds. He is super athletic (4.41-second 40, 38-inch vertical, 123-inch broad jump).
And unlike Baker coming out of college, Taylor-Demerson is a ballhawk. Over his final three seasons in Lubbock, he had 10 interceptions and 33 pass breakups.
The Cardinals view him as a true deep safety, although many feel he can also plug in right away in nickel, a skill set very similar to those of Arizona’s Jalen Thompson.
Selected 104th overall, he was in the top 50 players for Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar. He was No. 132 for NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.
What is great about the pick is that he is exactly what the Cardinals need. They play a decent amount of three-safety groups on defense in dime. And if Thompson plays in the slot, they need a third safety.
Rabbit has much more upside than Andre Chachere. And with Budda Baker under contract only for one more season, the idea of a Day 3 safety who could develop and take Baker’s place in 2025 of they don’t plan on bringing him back is perfect.
He is a great value pick for some.
And while there were other players at different positions they could have picked, anyone you might have considered were at positions the Cardinals had already addressed before Day 3.
So Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in Round 4 deserves an A grade.
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