NFL cornerbacks are not, as a general rule, always selected or prized for their tackling ability. They have very difficult jobs keeping up with the league’s gazelles at the wide receiver position, and their skill at staying with those guys and defending passes is probably at the top of their positional to-do list.
It’s certainly an added benefit when a cornerback tackles well, but plenty have had long and celebrated careers despite a dedicated distaste for contact. Deion Sanders is the poster boy for that group, one of the greatest pass defenders in history, but notorious for being nowhere to be found when a big running back came rumbling around the edge.