NFL scouts better love Teez Tabor on tape because his workouts have been awful

Going into the pre-draft evaluation process, there wasn’t a player more confident in his own skills than Florida cornerback Teez Tabor.

With 9 interceptions in 37 career games — a trio of which he returned for touchdowns — he’s a big reason why the Gators refer to themselves as “DBU” these days. He looked like another first-round pick in the making.

A year ago, UF saw corner Vernon Hargreaves and safety Keanu Neal come off the board in Round 1. It wasn’t farfetched to suggest that Tabor was the better prospect when he played opposite Hargreaves in 2015, as he got tested a lot and passed most of said tests with flying colors. Tabor was a better tackler, too.

While it’s a deep class of cornerbacks this spring, Tabor isn’t fazed by all the competition. Or at least he wasn’t at the Scouting Combine.

“I feel like I’m the best overall player in the draft, not just the best corner,” he told reporters at the podium earlier this month. “That just is the confidence I have in myself and my ability to play the game of football.”

However, a lot has changed since he made those comments. Not only did Tabor have a poor workout in Indianapolis — he placed outside the Top 15 among corners for every drill — but he was even less impressive Tuesday at Pro Day in Gainesville.

Most alarming is Tabor’s time in the 40-yard dash. On what most scouts consider to be a fast track at Lucas Oil Stadium, he could do no better than 4.62 seconds. The worst was yet to come, though. At Pro Day, he ran a 4.77. That would be slow for a linebacker and average at best for a pass rusher, let alone a cover man.

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Tabor was getting asked about his 40 in Indy even before he worked out, so it’s clear that speed is a crucial part of his eval.

“I think it’s a part of the process,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s gonna make or break me. Scouts know what I can do. The teams know what I can do. They’ve got the film. They just want a number, that’s all.”

On the contrary, it’s not an exaggeration to believe that his 40 could indeed break him — at least in terms of his status as a potential first-rounder. He’s already seen his grade slip to Round 2 at CBS Sports, which originally had him in Round 1.

A shoddy performance at the combine is one thing. It’s a neutral-site environment and every test is standardized. Disappointing under those conditions is understandable. A Pro Day, on the other hand, is designed to give players some sense of home-field advantage. They almost always post better results at Pro Day than they do at the combine.

Gators coach Jim McElwain downplayed the 40 time once he started getting peppered with Tabor-related questions:

“You know, its interesting. Even in talking to (NFL personnel), it’s about what you put on film. Ultimately, all these drills do is either possibly confirm or put some things into it. Guys, he plays at a fast, fast level. And you guys that have covered us. I don’t know if he’s ever been beaten, and he’s chased guys down when he’s had to. On a double-move here and there, he might have got beaten. But at the same time, he plays on film and puts on film that the speed is not an issue, and I think that’s exactly what a lot of these guys have talked about.”

I personally attended Pro Day at UF last year — Hargreaves was fantastic and justified every ounce of the first-round hype surrounding him at the time. When he addressed the media, he was all smiles.

While I didn’t cover the event myself this year, naturally I followed the proceedings closely and traded messages with experts I trust both on and off the Florida beat. Tabor’s day didn’t resemble that of Hargreaves in any capacity, not in the way he went through drills or the way he answered questions afterward.

Nobody is suggesting that Tabor is a fraud. The highlight reel from his time in orange and blue is long and distinguished.

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

“Just press play,” he said, according to Andrew Olson, who covers Florida for Saturday Down South.

If Hargreaves isn’t a great comparison for Tabor, perhaps Joe Haden is — both are from the Washington, D.C., area and starred for the Gators. Also like Tabor, Haden didn’t blow scouts away with crazy measurables at the combine.

Still, the numbers aren’t exactly parallel. Haden answered his mildly upsetting 4.52 at the combine with a 4.43 at Pro Day. He also had better results than Tabor in the bench press, vertical jump and broad jump. As a matter of fact, Tabor’s 9 reps on the bench at 225 pounds is also shocking. Haden did 18.

When asked in Indy who he would like to emulate at the next level, Haden is the only player Tabor mentioned by name.

“Just because I see how hard he works,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been watching him since high school. And just his journey, he’s given me a lot of inspiration, coming from the same area, going to the same school in Florida. And he may it to the Pro Bowl, so why can’t I?”

Haden quieted any doubters he may have had prior to draft weekend and eventually went No. 7 overall to the Cleveland Browns in 2010. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl pick and signed a $68 million contract extension four years into his career. There’s no reason why Tabor’s story can’t be written the same way.

But red flags have been raised. When playing against the fastest and strongest on Sunday, you can’t be perceived as slow and weak.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.