Hankerson played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft.

[3] His rookie season was cut short after suffering a subluxation of his right hip and a torn labrum in his second game as a starter against the Miami Dolphins.

[8] In Week 2 against the St. Louis Rams, he recorded his first career touchdown after catching a 68-yard pass from Robert Griffin III.

[12] Originally behind Josh Morgan in the depth chart again, he was later made the second starting wide receiver opposite of Pierre Garçon due to his improved performance.

[13][14] The Redskins placed him on injured reserve on November 21, 2013, after he tore his left LCL and ACL in the Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

[15][16][17] Having spent all of training camp on the PUP list, it was confirmed that Hankerson would remain by the start of the 2014 season on August 30, 2014.

[26] On August 15, 2016, he was released by the Bills, following a poor showing in the team's first preseason game in which he dropped most of the passes thrown at him.

[27] Hankerson joined Mark Whipple's UMass football staff as an offensive graduate assistant in July 2017 and earned a promotion into the role of wide receivers coach for the 2018-19 school year.