NFL Draft Profile: Safety Trevon Moehrig
Could TCU’s Trevon Moehrig fill Washington’s need at FS?
Washington’s need at free safety has been well documented at this point. Having failed to address the position in the first few waves of free agency, attention now turns to the draft. Most draft analysts believe the top safety in the draft is Trevon Moehrig out of TCU. Moehrig isn’t expected to be a top 15 pick, but could be about the right value for Washington at 19. So how good is Moehrig and is he a fit in Washington? Let’s take a closer look.
The primary function of the free safety position is to stay on top of routes and prevent deep shots down the field turning into touchdowns. He performs this role well and understands where he needs to be while having the range to get on top of routes outside.
On this play, West Virginia runs a basic four verticals concept with two receivers either side of the formation, all tasked with running deep. Moehrig aligns about 10 yards off the line of scrimmage over the slot receiver to the right of the offensive formation. He backpedals to gain depth and keep his cushion to stay on top of the receiver. As the receiver bends his route inside, Moehrig initially opens his hips inside to run with it, but looks into the backfield where he spots the quarterback making the throw outside. Moehrig performs a speed turn to get back outside, managing to get back on top of the route while doing so. Moehrig doesn’t contest the catch, but he did get himself back into a position to stay on top of the play and drive down on the route. Had the receiver been able to secure the ball, Moehrig was in position to land a big hit and potentially knock the ball out, but most importantly stop the touchdown.
While he might not have the elite range of someone like Earl Thomas, he has plenty of athletic ability to stay on top of routes and run with receivers down the field.
Here, Moehrig aligns in the middle of the field, shaded towards the three receivers all aligned to the right of the formation. As the ball is snapped, Moehrig gets his eyes on the inside receiver, taking heavy inside leverage. He appears to anticipate an in-breaking route, but the receiver works vertically. Once Moehrig sees the receiver commit to a vertical route, he adjusts his position and takes off running to carry the receiver up the field. He manages to close the gap between them and stick to the hip of the receiver as he runs down the field. The recovery is good and the ball is thrown elsewhere.
Staying on top of deep routes is far from the only thing Moehrig does well. He’s a versatile safety that is perfectly comfortable covering the slot as well as working deep.
On this play against Texas, Moehrig aligns over the slot receiver to the left of the formation. He plays with outside leverage, knowing he should have safety help in the middle of the field if he needs it. Moehrig mirrors the receiver as he works inside and then vertically. The receiver gets a little bit of separation as he breaks across the middle, but Moehrig sticks with the receiver and works hard to get himself in a position to undercut the route. He spots the quarterback making the throw and undercuts the route. The end zone replay angle shows the play best. While Moehrig doesn’t manage to get his hand on the ball, it’s only because the throw was so far outside that the receiver barely got his fingertips to it. Had the throw been more catchable for the receiver, Moehrig would have been in position to break it up or potentially intercept it.
While Moehrig didn’t officially break up that pass, he did have plenty of opportunities to impact passes thrown to slot receivers. He was routinely matched up against slot receivers and tight ends thanks to TCU’s coverage schemes.
Like before, Moehrig aligns over the receiver in the slot, but this time to the right of the formation. The receiver attempts to fake a corner route, selling a hard fake outside before sharply cutting back across Moehrig’s face to work inside. Moehrig plays with inside leverage and never looks too troubled about the potential out-breaking route. He does make a slight mistake in allowing the receiver to cross over and get inside of him, but Moehrig recovers quickly. He’s a little too handsy with the receiver, but is able to undercut the route again, this time getting his hand on the ball to break up the pass.
Another strong trait to Moehrig’s game is his anticipation. He clearly studies opposing teams carefully and has a strong idea of what route is likely based on formation and other offensive tendencies.
This play is a great example of Moehrig’s anticipation. The tight end to the right of the formation runs a basic cross, working vertical for 10-12 yards before cutting inside across the middle of the field. As soon as the ball is snapped, Moehrig’s eyes lock onto the tight end and he positions himself with heavy inside leverage, anticipating the crossing route. This puts him in the perfect position to cut off the route as the tight end breaks inside, taking the route away from the quarterback, who is forced to look elsewhere and eventually throw the ball away under pressure.
My main issue with Moehrig’s game is his run defense. A deep middle safety isn’t often involved in the run defense, but if Moehrig is drafted as a quarters safety, then his run defense is important. Quarters safeties have to be involved against the run and we saw Washington have issues with this from free safety last year with Troy Apke missing some tackles. Moehrig has a tendency to be late to read run, which means he often isn’t helping the run defense as much as he should.
On this play, Oklahoma calls one of its staple run concepts. The Sooners align with two backs in the backfield and task the right guard and right tackle to pull to the left. The back to left side follows them, giving effectively three lead blockers for the running back that takes the hand off. Moehrig aligns over the slot receiver and locks onto him as the ball is snapped. He’s very late to recognise the run and when he finally does, rather than charging down to attack the runner, he runs himself into a block.
Despite that, Moehrig is still a solid prospect with good coverage ability and versatility. The coverage traits that Moehrig possesses make him an ideal fit in a two-deep safety scheme. He played mostly as a quarters safety or deep half safety at TCU, which allowed him to drive down on routes from deep, while also making use of his ability to defend slot receivers from certain alignments. The Washington Football Team were among the leaders in the league with the amount of quarters coverage it used last season, which would make Moehrig a fit in theory.
However Washington also ran a lot of Cover-3 and with the signing of cornerback William Jackson, the team could be looking to transition to some more man coverage schemes too. Those schemes require the free safety to play in the deep middle of the field. Moehrig is capable of that type of assignment, but I’m not sure it makes the most of his abilities, like being able to match up against tight ends and slot receivers. If Washington plans to use more quarters coverage next season, Moehrig would be a good fit, but if the team prefers to use more single deep safety schemes, then perhaps it would be better off looking elsewhere.