San Francisco 49ers: Scouting new practice squad cornerback Teez Tabor

The San Francisco 49ers have signed former second-round pick Teez Tabor to their practice squad. Here is a brief analysis of what he brings to the table.

The San Francisco 49ers have gotten off to an incredible start this season and much of that has been due to the dominant play of their defense. Their secondary is much-improved but is dealing with some injuries prompting the team to take a flier on former second-round pick Teez Tabor.

The 49ers officially signed Tabor to their practice squad Monday announcing the release of offensive tackle Ryan Pope in a concurrent move. Pope was an undrafted free agent out of San Diego State that was seen as more of a developmental prospect.

Tabor’s addition to the practice squad comes with more hype and intrigue than most practice squad signings. After all, Tabor was a second-round pick just three drafts ago and was seen as a near-lock to go in Round 1 before a poor combine plummeted his draft stock.

The Florida product ran a disastrous 4.70 40-yard dash at his pro day and followed that up with a disappointing 4.62 time at the combine. That was enough to scare off many scouts despite what his tape showed in college.

Tabor — along with teammate Quincy Wilson — formed one of the most formidable cornerback duos in the nation while at Florida as the former was a first-team All-SEC selection in consecutive seasons back in 2015 and 2016.

The 23-year-old was viewed as one of the best zone coverage corners in the draft which is likely one of the primary reasons that San Francisco gave him a chance. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s scheme relies heavily on zone coverage making this a solid fit.

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However, it’s impossible not to ignore Tabor’s struggles in his first two years in the league. In two seasons with the Detroit Lions, Tabor was given every opportunity to earn a starting job.

In fact, the Lions allowed him to compete for the No. 2 cornerback role behind Darius Slay in his very first season. However, Tabor was beaten out by veterans D.J. Hayden and Nevin Lawson and saw the field sparingly over those two seasons.

Unfortunately, when he was on the field, the success that he had at Florida was nowhere to be found.

Tabor graded out as one of the worst cornerbacks in the league last season earning an atrocious 32.2 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. Incredibly enough, opponents completed a pass on 81.5% of passes where he was in coverage.

81.5! That means that opponents would complete a pass on him more than four out of five times. That’s downright dreadful.

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Much of his struggles came as a result of his lack of speed as he simply couldn’t keep up with opposing receivers. Moreover, he would often play so deep because of his lack of speed that he would give receivers 10+ yards of cushion.

Tabor’s struggles led to perhaps the worst season of any cornerback in football history last season — in fact, it’s impossible to get any worse. The former college standout allowed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 for the entire duration of the season.

That’s right, Tabor played 276 snaps for the Lions in 2018 and he could not have finished with worse stats if he tried.

There is still hope given his draft pedigree and prior success in college, but it’s clear that this is a reclamation project. But for a practice squad player, Tabor is certainly more high-profile than most.

Here’s to hoping that he could turn his career around in San Francisco.