TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson said the coolest part of his day is sitting back and listening to veterans Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson talk ball.
Taylor-Demerson, AKA Rabbit, was a captain at Texas Tech and locker room leader. Starting from scratch as an NFL youngster has presented him an opportunity.
In a media scrum on Thursday, he explained needing to learn all he could for when it was time to step into a larger role, and connecting with two of the longest tenured players on the team gives him a great chance to do so.
“All the tests they give me, I just want to pass those. That way, when the exam comes around and I’ve got a much bigger role, I can attack it the way I know I can,” Taylor-Demerson said. “My confidence is at an all-time high right now, just from the older guys in my room getting me prepared. We got a lot of high-value guys that have knowledge in our room.
“I’m always asking them, ‘Hey, when we’re off, we got nothing to do in the building, what are y’all doing?’ Trying to get my routine better for next year and the years to come.”
Baker has appreciated Rabbit’s “student of the game” mindset.
The eighth-year veteran said the rookie reminds him of himself coming into the league in 2018 and wanting to know everything he could from the veteran players.
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“As the days have gone by, training camp and preseason and all that type of stuff, all the mistakes he’s made, he’s corrected them,” Baker said. “And he has done a great job of understanding the defense, understanding route concepts and stems of receivers and all that type of stuff. So it’s great to talk to Rabbit. To have that trust in a rookie is definitely something very special, because as a veteran player, rookies mess up things multiple times, the same thing. And Rabbit hasn’t done that.”
Taylor-Demerson received his first real opportunity to impact the defense in Sunday’s win at the San Francisco 49ers.
Rabbit played a career-high 22 defensive snaps, and he allowed one reception for three yards on three targets with two pass breakups. On a pass over the middle during the first quarter, Taylor-Demerson knocked the ball away from 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, and Baker was right there to hype him up after the play.
The Cardinals are counting on many young defensive players to handle themselves, especially in the secondary. They took Taylor-Demerson in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, one of six defensive players general manager Monti Ossenfort took this year after selecting five defenders in 2023.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon this week said Taylor-Demerson played well, has some material to clean up but confidence is high that he will. Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said Rabbit’s motor, violence and smarts fit the criteria he’s looking from from his defenders.
#Cardinals rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson only played 22 snaps against the 49ers, but he was extremely impactful
Particularly shined in coverage, where he allowed only one catch for three yards
Would expect his responsibilities to increase over the course of the year pic.twitter.com/vLi3vM3Dfs
— Bradley Locker (@Bradley_Locker) October 9, 2024
The rookie acknowledged he has a ways to go before becoming the player and leader he aspires to be, especially compared to the veterans who set the example every day.
“Just continue to have a growth mindset, I don’t know it all,” Taylor-Demerson said. “You can’t come in and act like you know it all. There’s always room for improvement. I see the level of play between me and the guys on the field now. Okay, what’s the difference? The way they recognize the game so fast is what I’m trying to get like. I believe I’m a good player. I believe I can do a lot of things out there on the field, but the way they see things, just the experience they have at this level, is a lot different than what I came from.
“Continue to learn and be a good teammate, and then one day it’s gonna be time for Rabbit to do his thing.”