Quote:Without knowing much about Tankersley, there's a pretty wide gulf between just being a big, physical corner and being an effective free safety, particularly in Gus' defense where the free safety is usually covering the entire deep third of the field.

 

It would be a process to transition to free safety, of course, but being big, physical and rangy are definitely tools that are important to the position. When you look at the list of true free safeties in the college ranks, you realize it's pretty slim. If they're that hard to find, then the scope of potential players has to be widened. This would require coaching and patience to let the player develop. I'd rather take my chances on signing a stop-gap for a couple seasons (Eric Weddle would be nice), and then making the transition with a young, home-grown talent, than signing a free agent to a mega-deal with a huge amount of guaranteed money.

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