He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the Dolphins in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.

[4][5][6] On January 9, 2017, Tankersley was part of the Clemson team that defeated top-ranked and previously undefeated Alabama in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship by a score of 35–31.

[7] Tankersley was one of 60 collegiate defensive backs to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[8] On March 16, 2017, Tankersley attended Clemson's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed the vertical jump (30+1⁄2 in, 770 mm) and positional drills.

[9] He attended private workouts and visits with multiple teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

[15] Tankersley competed against Alterraun Verner and Walt Aikens for the role as the third cornerback on the depth chart after Tony Lippett tore his ACL during training camp.

[16] Head coach Adam Gase named Tankersley the fifth cornerback on the Dolphins' depth chart, behind Xavien Howard, Byron Maxwell, Verner, and Bobby McCain to begin the regular season.

On October 1, 2017, he made his professional regular season debut and first career start after he surpassed Maxwell and Verner on the depth chart due to poor play exhibited by both.

As a rookie in his debut, Saints' quarterback Drew Brees targeted Tankersley as he was matched up with Michael Thomas.