Connect with us
Burn+

Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals rookie Dadrion Taylor-Demerson ready to do whatever it takes to stay in the NFL

© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals’ 2024 rookie class is just a few months away from being able to suit up and make their debut in the National Football League, a major moment anyone growing up playing the sport dreams of.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

One of those who is excited to be able to get to this stage of his career is the Cardinals’ fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.

After volunteering at the United Food Bank on Thursday, Taylor-Demerson talked about what he is most looking forward to now that he is in the NFL and understands that he’ll need to work hard to stay in the league.

“Getting to play in the league,” Taylor-Demerson said. “I have never played in an NFL stadium, so I feel like that will be pretty cool. This is the highest level you can achieve in the line of work that I do. To finally be here, I just want to stay here.”

Wrapping up a five-year (2019-23) collegiate career at Texas Tech, the Oklahoma City native accumulated 224 tackles, 10 interceptions and two sacks. Based on his performance on the field, he received 2023 second-team All-SEC honors and helped the Red Raiders win the 2023 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.

Coming into a new environment could be challenging, especially for athletes who jump from college to the pros in any sport. New faces, new coaching philosophies and the overall change of scenery outside of the sport will take time for someone to become fully acclimated.

For Taylor-Demerson, however, he is not worrying about those factors and believes the other Cardinals rookies he is surrounded by will make his transition even smoother.

“We come into a new locker room and it never changes, you meet new guys,” Taylor-Demerson said. “It’s the same way in college with a class leaves and a new class comes in. We’re used to new guys coming in, and we pretty much know each other throughout this whole process since January. We have been around each other for so long, it’s really easy getting along with these guys. We all share the same goals and especially when you get to this league [NFL] right here that are like yourself. All these guys are like-minded like me and have the same path as me. It makes it easy coming into work.”

Hoping to not only make a lasting impression for the Cardinals on the field, the 23-year-old wants to make an impact off of it as well.

Alongside the other 13 rookies at the United Food Bank in Mesa, Taylor-Demerson helped pack 1,300 food bags for those in need around Arizona, something he was glad to do.

“I am a big community guy, so this is a cool opportunity to come establish ourselves in a new community and give back,” Taylor-Demerson said. “The easiest way is by giving food out. World hunger is a big problem, so for us to come out here and be able to compete in making bags is the cool part. We are out here acting like we are on the field. So to come out here, build a comradery and also give back to the community is a big plus.

“We always find a way to make a game, make everything we do pretty fun. In this way, we get these bags done pretty quick so that we can make some extra bags if we need to. It is pretty cool to come out here and give back to a new community.”

Rookie corner Elijah Jones excited to start his NFL career with Cardinals

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*

Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini

Related Topics

Burn City Radio

More in Arizona Cardinals