2013 NFL Draft: Cornellius Tank Carradine Prospect Profile

September 29, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive end Cornellius Carradine (91) forces South Florida Bulls quarterback Matt Floyd (11) to fumble the ball during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Florida State Seminoles defeated the South Florida Bulls 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

There is a lot of talk around the NFL in regards to Florida State’s Cornellius “Tank” Carradine, and his potential draft stock. Carradine burst onto the scene in 2012 posting 80 tackles and 12 sacks for the Seminoles. Playing alongside Bjoern Werner, the two of them struck fear into opposing offensive coordinators. Having only started during his senior year, posted unbelievable numbers en route to the Sugar Bowl. The only reason he did not start sooner than his senior year was due to Brandon Jenkins manning that position.

Measurables:

Strengths:

Carridine uses his hands well when fighting against the offensive linemen that are assigned to block him. Using swim moves, rips and the bullrush can cause issues in getting to the quarterback. When watching Carradine on film, you will notice that he has great initial punch when attacking the tackle or tight end. He seems to get linemen off balance when pushing them back into the pocket; however Carradine needs to get his hands inside more.

With his lateral movement, Carradine can be a huge threat. In today’s NFL no player plays predominately on one side of the line, mixing it up with stunts also makes him dangerous. Standing up in a linebacker stance will cause confusion, allowing Carradine to have a step on the tackles. This is one way for a defensive coordinator to utilize his talents.

Even without having top end speed, Carradine has shown flashes of chasing down ball carriers. In the final game of the season, Carradine was able to chase Florida quarterback Jeff Driscoll 35 yards downfield. He has shown that he’s willing to be a force in both aspects, not just chasing down the passer.

Weaknesses:

While Carradine has shown that he can be a playmaker from the edge, he can be seen giving up on plays entirely too quickly. If he is unable to get by the tackle, especially on plays where the runner is heading in the opposite direction he stops pursuit. On some plays he has shown his motor, but more often than not he disappears on the field.

If he wants to be more of a top tier defensive end, Carradine will need to work on his technique. When watching film from the Florida game, he had issues with getting by Xavier Nixon. Once Nixon was able to get his hands on him, Carradine had issues shedding the blocker. On the few plays where he tackled the runner, Dixon still had his hands on him and the running back ran into them.

The biggest problem that I had seen on film is he plays too far off the line. This was really evident in the Wake Forest game. He seemed to be very slow off the line, taking longer to make contact with the tackle. Playing across from Werner, he just seemed slow. Werner shot around the end, while Carradine was still coming out of his stance. When he was able to make a sack or tackle, it was mainly due to Werner not wrapping up.

Projection:

Towards the end of the season Carradine seemed like a lock for a first round pick. However during the Florida game, he tore his ACL which in turn hurt his draft stock. Teams seemed to be concerned, however no team has red flagged him at this point. He is expected to make a full recovery, but because he is so raw in experience this will cause him to slip. As far as a draft projection, you can expect him to get the call in the late second round or at some point in the third. Teams that are looking for a 4-3 defensive end should be expected to him a look this coming April.

Grade: 7.25/10.0