Raiders may take another safety
TCU’s Moehrig is a rangy playmaker who could fortify Vegas’ issues with last line of defense
Could the Raiders take a safety in the first round of the NFL draft for the third time in six years?
Longtime ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. thinks so, and I’ve got to admit I like the idea.
Trevon Moehrig of TCU, the recipient of the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back in college football, is Kiper’s choice to go to the Raiders at No. 17 overall.
Moehrig, a rangy 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, could in theory step right in at free safety and give new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley an updated version of Earl Thomas, the former “Legion of Boom” safety in Seattle when Bradley was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator.
In an era when much of college football has gone to spread offenses, the “lay the wood” safeties have in most cases given way to those who can make plays in space.
“You’ve got to be able to cover,” Kiper said Monday during a national conference call. “You’ve got to be able to match up and (Moehrig) can do that. He gets from Point A to Point B in a blink. He really diagnoses quickly. He reacts instantaneously. I think he’s the kind of guy Gruden and Mayock would like at No. 17 with Jonathan Abram having some injury issues.”
Abram, who played at Mississippi State, was the third of three first-round picks in 2019 after Clelin Ferrell and Josh Jacobs. Before that in 2016 there was Karl Joseph, the West Virginia safety taken by Reggie McKenzie at No. 14 overall.
The calling card of both Abram and Joseph was their ability to hit. It may not be a coincidence that both have had trouble staying healthy because of it. Joseph
departed in free agency and signed with Cleveland last season.
Abram lost his rookie year to a torn labrum, missed time with a knee injury in 2020 and was borderline out of control in terms of penalties and discipline, as liable to draw a flag as deliver a big hit and missing assignments in coverage.
Abram is still very much part of the plan as a strong safety and 2021 may well determine whether he becomes the kind of player that deserved the uniform number No. 24 which was also worn by Hall of Famers Willie Brown and Charles Woodson.
Free safety is wide open, however, and has been since Woodson retired following the 2015 season. Erik Harris started 12 games last season and while he’s a solid reserve and special teams player, the idea was never to have him as the full-time free safety.
Moehrig, likely the only safety to be selected in the first round, was a standout since he arrived at Texas Christian. He was named the Horned Frogs’ MVP on special teams as a freshman and played two standout seasons at safety before making himself eligible for the draft.
He gets high marks for coverage skills and as a sharp tackler who brings down his target and has the ability to strip the ball.
The Raiders need help in a big way in terms of both rush and coverage, and covering the Travis Kelces of the world has proved a mystery.
The problem is this year’s draft isn’t rich in sure-thing pass rushers. There’s not a Khalil Mack, Myles Garrett or Chase Young to be found, and unless Ferrell has a surprise in store in 2021, it appears the Raiders reached for an edge player in 2019 and got a solid player instead of an explosive one.
Kiper believes it makes more sense to wait until the third round or later where a developmental rusher could emerge much as Maxx Crosby did in the fourth round in 2019.
In fact, Kiper’s second option for the Raiders behind Moehrig is a linebacker, Jeremiah OwusuKoramoah of Notre Dame.
Even in an age when linebackers are leaner, OwusuKoramoah at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds is on the small side but can range from sideline to sideline. And where Moehrig could step right
in as an every-down player, the Raiders have every intention of giving Cory Littleton a running start into his second season in Bradley’s system and also signed Nick Kwiatkoski a year ago.
“They’ve got to be better on the defensive side,” Kiper said. “They’ve got to be healthy on the defensive side. Keep all those guys out there for 16 games. They haven’t been able to do that. I think if they can add a defensive player at 17, hopefully those guy can stay healthy and they can make a quantum leap in termsoftheirdefense.”
We’ll have a better idea of the viability of a Moehrig selection in the first round after free agency, which begins March 17. There’s a strong field of safeties available including Denver’s Justin Simmons, the Jets’ Marcus Maye, New Orleans’ Marcus Williams,
the L.A. Rams’ John Johnson III and Minnesota’s Anthony Harris.
Thomas, 31, remains on the market as well. He found no takers for his services a year ago after being cut from the Baltimore Ravens for being insubordinate. That came after Thomas wore out his welcome with erratic behavior in Seattle. Although Thomas excelled for Bradley with the Seahawks, it’s hard to see the Raiders rolling the dice on a loose cannon after the Antonio Brown debacle in 2019.
It’s conceivable Simmons and Maye could be given the franchise tag, removing them from the market, and that Williams, Robinson or Harris could be too costly.
That would make Moehrig a solid and less expensive option on April 29 who as a first-round draft pick would be under team control for at least four years.