Some scouts questioned Teez Tabor’s lack of top-end speed after he ran a 4.62 at the combine, but Lions General Manager Bob Quinn has downplayed concerns by mentioning the cornerback’s instincts and “reactionary athleticism.”
Tabor has impressed Lions cornerbacks coach Tony Oden with his mental makeup.
“I consider him a balcony thinker as opposed to a ground-level floor thinker,” Oden said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “So he wants to know what the guy next to him is doing. Before I go over it he starts to think about, ‘OK, what if this route happens? What’s our adjustment vs. that?’ But it’s in a positive way. Sometimes you get guys doing it, trying to just kind of get on your good side. He’s doing it because it’s a legit question.”
While Oden cautions that Tabor has much to learn, the second-round pick has impressed thus far. Tabor will compete with Nevin Lawson and D.J. Hayden for time opposite Darius Slay.
A three-year starter at Florida, Tabor made 104 tackles, nine interceptions and 37 pass breakups.
