Cedric Tillman comes from a football family. His father, Cedric, played football at Alcorn State and was selected in the 11th round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He would play four NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos and the Jacksonville Jaguars. His older brother, Jamir, played wide receiver at Navy and was the teams leading receiver. Tillman is good personal friends with Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway, and Josh Palmer. 

There’s some upside with Tillman because of his lack of a route tree at Tennessee. There are a lot of nuances that Tillman still has to learn. 

Watching Cedric Tillman this morning and he already has my attention. Creates separation on the slot fade at the stem, exudes great body control, and tracks the ball with perfection pic.twitter.com/eOIfec0hSw

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) February 26, 2023

Missed six games with nagging injuries in 2022. 

Cedric Tillman’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (25)

Speed/Athleticism: 15

• Speed (5.5/7) – Great speed, especially for his size. Overall for the position has good speed. 
• Change of Direction (2.5/4) – Change of direction is good, not great. 
• Body Control (3/4) – There is definitely some body control ability there within his game. Flashes it at times. 

Explosiveness/Burst: 10

• Acceleration (3/5) – Acceleration is overall average. 
• Explosiveness (4/5) – Very explosive athlete. Tested really well. 

Receiver Fundamentals (25)

Route Running: 15 

• Footwork (5/7) – Excellent footwork through his routes. Really sells his fakes well. 
• Route Tree (3/5) – Route tree was limited at Tennessee by the nature of the offense. 
• Nuances (1.5/3) – Tillman needs to work on just learning routes and how to run them against different coverages. 

Release/Control: 10

• Release Ability (4/5)- Shows a good release and can work through physical coverage corners and jam techniques. Size certainly plays a factor in the way that he handles contact. 
• Sideline Work (4/5) – Works the sideline extremely well, shows the ability to keep both feet inbounds while securing the catch. 

Catch Ability (25)

Catch Ability: 15 

• Natural Catch Ability (8.5/10) – Good, soft hands. Excellent catch radius. Locates the ball so well. Does an outstanding job securing the catch and not thinking about his run after the catch. 
• Consistency (4.5/5) – Very consistent receiver. Has just 5 career drops over his Tennessee career. 

Contested Catch Ability: 10 

• Vertical Ability (4.5/5) – Excellent vertical/jump ball ability. Solid player. Wins in contested catch situations more often than not. So good at high-pointing the ball and securing the catch. 
• Through Contact (4/5) – Does a great job locating and securing the catch through contact. Very solid receiver through contested situations.

Schematic Aspects (20)

Deep Threat/Red Zone: 10

• Deep Threat Rating (3.5/5) – Has the ability to stretch the field a little bit but isn’t a burner and isn’t going to outrun most cornerbacks. He will win with a good throw and his physicality if he does. Tracks the ball well. 
• Red Zone Threat Rating (4/5) – Has some size and can win contested catches. Made some solid catches in 1v1 situations in college. 

Run Blocking: 10

• Strength (4/5) – Good run-blocking strength. Can get guys going downhill. 
• Consistency (4.5/5) – Very consistent run blocker. Wins his matchups and clears lanes. Very willing run blocker. 

Overall: (81.5) – 1st/2nd Round