This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”
Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
TCU’s Trevon Moehrig was the consensus top safety for the 2021 NFL Draft after putting together two good years with the Horned Frogs. He broke out as a sophomore in 2019, recording 62 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes broken up and two forced fumbles. Moehrig then totaled 47 tackles, two interceptions and nine passes defended in 2020. Along with his solid production, Moehrig (6-2, 208) had a good skill set with size and speed for the NFL. Moehrig was commonly projected to be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, so it was surprising when he slipped to the second round and was the third safety taken.
In speaking to team sources, many had Moehrig graded in the second round, so he didn’t really slide to teams. Some contacts were surprised when Central Florida’s Richie Grant went over Moehrig, but many thought Oregon’s Javon Holland could be taken ahead of Moehrig. Holland ended up being the first safety off the board, but he only went seven slots higher than Moehrig. Evaluators liked Moehrig, but he did not have a lot of them falling in love and passionate about taking him in the first round.
The Las Vegas Raiders traded up in the second round for Moehrig, and they are a great landing spot for him. The Raiders had a big hole at free safety, so Moehrig could be an instant starter next to Johnathan Abram. Moehrig played like a strong safety at TCU next to the undersized Ar’Darius Washington, but Moehrig has a free safety’s movement skills with a solid build and ball skills. In Gus Bradley’s zone-based defense, Moehrig is a good fit and he could be a quick contributor for Las Vegas. Moehrig looks like a safe pick to turn into a solid starter and upgrade the Raiders’ safety play.
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