Cordrea Tankersley is fast, but the technique & mental aspect continues to elude him
After he was drafted, Cordrea Tankersley was supposed to sit his rookie season and learn. But nothing went as expected in 2017. So after the injury of Tony Lippett and the release of Byron Maxwell, he was forced into the starting role by Week 4.
Given the situation, Tankersley did fairly well… especially early on in 2017. As time went on though, his weaknesses became clear and defenses picked on him.
The 2018 Season was another story. Tankersley was seasoned and slated to take the starting role opposite Xavien Howard.
It isn’t appearing with any of the pay per head reviews that it will work out as hoped… And the Dolphins are in DEF CON 5 mode to find his replacement.
After Tankersley’s poor showing in the 1st Preseason Game last week, Bobby McCain was moved outside and made the starter. Minkah Fitzpatrick was moved inside to Nickel as McCain’s replacement. The pieces are being moved around all over to compensate for Tankersley’s poor play and to find a lineup that’s effective.
Is this the best-case scenario? No. Might it end up being effective? Maybe.
Tankersley is now heading to the bottom of the Cornerback Depth Chart. Torry McTyer has equaled him and Tony Lippett and Jalen Davis are right behind him. Although, Lippett continues to struggle with injuries.
Let’s take a look at the film of the last Preseason Game:
In the clips above, #30 Tankersley is late on arrival, again and again. His coverage is either too loose or his zone integrity is lost and he drifts into another zone.
It’s not to say he didn’t have a good play here and there. He had two as far as I could tell. Tankersley had a nice run fill and the play below was a nice job in coverage. But his good plays are too few and spread too far apart.
Sometimes Tankersley looks like he’s got it… but more often than not, not so much.
This last clip is the epitome of why Tankersley is not ready to start… or maybe even be a backup.
Notice LB #44 Anthony calling out assignments. He signals over to Tankersley for a switch on receivers or on assignments. This is coverage 101 when you have a bunch alignment. Every kid does it from the sandlot to the street when growing up.
When an LB and a CB are facing a Tight End and a Wide Receiver, who gets who? When an LB and a Corner have to divvy up the short flats or open middle, who gets what? No duh, right.
So what does Tankersley do? He comes off the post and jumps on the TE running a flat.
Anthony purses and Tankersley stands there watching… seemingly clueless. This is the first sign that Tankersley is in the wrong. Anthony again shows his hand gesture at the end of the play to Tankersley. This is another factor. And Tankersley’s demotion is the cherry on top.
But this type of boneheaded play isn’t his first. Cordrea Tankersley had plenty of mental lapses last year. It seems the offseason, and another camp hasn’t fixed the issue. It’s a bit of a head scratcher.
Now the Dolphins are hunting high and low for help at Cornerback. Their fingers are crossed with McCain starting wide and Fitzpatrick at the nickel. Again, this isn’t ideal… but it might end up effective. Either way, it puts a serious strain on depth at the spot.
McCain isn’t getting a shot at this point, he must pan out or the Phins will have a gaping hole in their defense. McTyer has been a nice story, but he isn’t ready for the limelight. That’s the way it looked from Week 1’s tape… maybe things will change by Week 2. Lippett is another option, but he has been limited as he recovers from a torn Achilles. Especially for corners, Achilles tears are long shots to recover from.
The Dolphins are so hot and heavy for corner help that they hosted free-agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland on Sunday, but no deal has been reached. They are likely exploring trade options around the clock.
This week’s game has another BIG storyline to keep your eyes on. I keep saying this, but fingers crossed. Go Phins!!!
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