Cedric Tillman NFL Draft Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6′-3″
Weight: 215 pounds
School: Tennessee
2023 NFL Draft: Cedric Tillman Scouting Report
After spending the past five seasons with Tennessee, Cedric Tillman is finally ready to enter the NFL Draft. The wide receiver is coming off something of a down year, recording 37 receptions for 417 yards and three touchdowns in just six games.
Tillman originally began his college football journey in the 2018 season. It took a while for the wide receiver to find his footing, as he redshirted in 2018 and only recorded eight catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns through his first three seasons. However, he finally earned the opportunity to start in 2021 and put together a fantastic season. As a redshirt Junior, Tillman recorded 64 receptions for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games of action.
Strengths
- Physical playmaker that is never truly covered;
- Great at timing his jumps to get the ball at its highest point;
- Can box out defenders in contested situations;
- Impressive catch radius – if it’s near him, he’ll haul it in;
- Showed red zone potential with 12-touchdown 2021.
Weaknesses
- Runs a very limited route tree – exclusively works the right sideline;
- Exclusively a contested catch guy – this skill does not translate well to the NFL;
- Five-year collegiate player that needed four years to earn a starting job;
- Poor deceleration – no agility to his game;
- Wins with a size mismatch that isn’t nearly as glaring against NFL cornerbacks;
- Only one season of impressive production.
NFL Comparison: Allen Lazard
Teams With Need At Position: Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots
Projection: Rounds 5-6
Bottom Line on Cedric Tillman
The odds are against Cedric Tillman ever developing into anything more than a depth option at the NFL level. While nothing is impossible, there are a lot of red flags in his profile. For one, Tillman makes his living by being bigger and stronger than opposing cornerbacks. Listed at 6′-3″ and 215 pounds, that type of play will work against college defenders. However, he’s not THAT much bigger than a typical NFL cornerback, so he won’t have the same size advantage. Additionally, we all know that, by and large, contested catch situations do not translate to the NFL game – just ask N’Keal Harry.
If you want to earn a spot in the NFL, you need to have another calling card, and Tillman just doesn’t have one. He spent his entire collegiate career running routes on the right sideline, and he has yet to prove capable of moving around the formation or getting open consistently. The bad news doesn’t end there, though, as the analytics also look terrible for him. Tillman is a fifth-year Senior, which doesn’t bode well for his long-term endeavors, and on top of that, he also didn’t break out until his fourth year. Earning targets is a skill, and it’s one Tillman didn’t develop until he was older than the vast majority of his competition.
Still, despite all this, there is some reason to believe he can defy the odds and carve out a role at the NFL level. His 2021 and early 2022 tape has some bright moments, and some of his skills could translate to the professional level. On top of being bigger than everyone, he also showed the ability to leverage his body such that defenders wouldn’t have a chance at the ball, and he always timed his jumps at the optimal moment. There is the potential for him to develop into a situational receiver and red zone threat, and that alone justifies a late-round dart throw.
Main Photo: Brianna Paciorka – USA Today Sports
