Matt Wilson
Cedric Tillman is a former three-star wide receiver recruit who dominated at the high school level at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV. He then went on to commit to the University of Tennessee in 2018. Despite being under-recruited at the time, he went on to become the first Volunteer Wide Receiver since 2012 to record a 1,000-yard receiving season. From the moment that he worked his way onto the field on a consistent basis, he was one of UT’s top pass-catching weapons. Throughout his career at Tennesse, he consistently showed that he has an incredibly advanced skillset in terms of play strength, body control, and football IQ.
Career Honors
2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl Invitee
2023 East-West Shrine Game Invitee
2022 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List
2022 Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List
2022 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List
2022 Athlon Sports Preseason All-American Third Team
2022 Phil Steele Preseason All-American Third Team
2022 Preseason All-SEC First Team (Athlon, Coaches, Lindy’s, Phil Steele)
2022 Preseason All-SEC Second Team (Media)
Reese’s Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week (at Pitt, 9/10/22)
2021 All-SEC Second Team (Phil Steele)
2020 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
2019 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
2018-19 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
Cedric Tillman: Measurables
| Height: | 6’3″ |
| Weight: | 215 Lbs. |
| Arms: | 34.50″ |
| Hands: | 9.75″ |
| 40yd Dash: | 4.45 secs. (Projected) |
Cedric Tillman: Attributes
Hands: Tillman has incredible catch concentration. His ability to come down with contested catches on a consistent basis is directly correlated to his strength and ball awareness. Rarely drops passes.
Route Running: He’s one of the best receivers in this class in regards to vertical route-running. He consistently shows the ability to bend routes and shield corners when they are trying to stack on top of him. His size also allows him to make consistent catches over smaller defensive backs. Due to his long stride, he shows some inconsistency on underneath routes and overall short-area quickness. He will have to work on technique at the next level in order to expand on his route tree.
Catch Point: Excellent ball-tracking and adjustment skills on deep passes. Does an extremely good job of timing his jumps perfectly on “jump balls”. His extremely long arms allow him to make tough catches away from his frame.
Speed: He shows more than enough overall game speed to be successful at the next level. He’s not a “Burner” like his current teammate Jalin Hyatt, but he should still be able to take the top off of NFL defenses on occasion, depending on the personnel matchup.
Release: Due to his sheer size and strength, he has been able to easily explode and dig out of press and/or man coverage in college. He is going to need to work on hand-fighting skills at the next level if he’s going to succeed as an X-type receiver.
Cedric Tillman: Notes
- Former 3-star recruit.
- Skillset and potential to play “X” a high level.
- Insanely good long-ball player. Turns into a running back with the ball in his hands. Has the strength to break arm tackles on a consistent basis.
- Excellent blocker in the run game.
Projected Round: 3rd to 4th round.
Outlook
Cedric Tillman is an exciting wide receiver prospect with a lot of potential to be a solid “X” receiver in the pros. Though there’s always going to be a lot of hype surrounding Jalin Hyatt and his blazing speed leading up to the NFL draft, Tillman could end up being the more NFL-ready player.
Tillman is the type of prospect that most likely won’t develop into a team’s top receiving weapon, but he projects to have a solid floor as a consistent contributor. Depending on the type of offensive scheme he’s in, he should end up being a quality outside weapon with a lot of sub-package usage in the redzone.
