Home Steelers Draft SCB Steelers Draft Journal: CB Cordrea Tankersley

SCB Steelers Draft Journal: CB Cordrea Tankersley

by Chris Nicolaou

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the market for a tall, lengthy cornerback and a National Champion seems to have peeked their interest. The need is dire for an upgrade at the cornerback position opposite 2016 first round pick Artie Burns. Today we examine Cordrea Tankersley.

Cordrea Tankersley #25 | Clemson

6’1 199lbs | Senior


What’s to like: Has prototypical size and length for the position. Special teams experience (kickoff team). Very good instincts and above average FBI (football intelligence). Scheme versatile. experience in a variety of coverages, always looks comfortable, never lost. Forces turnovers, eight interceptions the past two seasons. Quick on blitzes, gets in the backfield quickly. Plus ball skills, uses length to defend or take away the pass with a total of 11 passes defended in 2016.



Concerns: Could stand to add more muscle to his frame. Click and bail technique fails him in the vertical game, needs to turn and run when necessary instead of staying in the bail technique. Arm tackling at times, which doesn’t cut it. Redirection is a bit slow, short-intermediate routes by fast/shifty receivers will be his downfall. Grabby when getting beat vertically, according to NFL.com, was called for eight pass interference calls the past two seasons. Not aggressive enough in the run game: both tackling and desire lacking.


Verdict:  Every team wants a cornerback with length. The Steelers are now in that market as well and Tankersley has peeked their interest. Standing at 6’1, Tank has good length but needs to add more muscle, which should help him get off blocks easier. Needs to learn how to properly tackle, but a ton of these cornerbacks do. Has experience in a ton of coverages. It looks like they just said go out and do your best, needs coached up on technique and playing the position short-intermediate. Down field, Tank is a natural who uses his long arms and length to break up passes and take the ball away. He may be too rich for my blood at 30, and too good of a player to fall to 62. I would be unhappy at 30 and ecstatic at 62, which seems to be my position on a ton of players, so someone has to fall. The Steelers were present for his pro day.


2016 Stats: 52 tackles (39 solo), 6 TFL, 4 INT, 11 PBU

Grade: Round 2 | Projection: Late 1- Mid 2

Games watched: Ohio State 2016, Troy 2016, Virginia Tech 2016

Link: All 2017 Steel City Blitz Draft Player Journals

Stats courtesy: Sports-Reference, NFL.com

Photo courtesy:  247Sports

Video courtesy: DraftBreakdown.com

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.