Corey Moore is a potential breakout candidate in Texans’ secondary
The Houston Texans will need someone to step up on the back end of their secondary in 2017, and special teams ace Corey Moore could be the man…
After losing key contributors to the secondary in A.J. Bouye and Quintin Demps, the Houston Texans are going to have some new alpha-dogs in 2017. One such player could be 2015 undrafted free agent Corey Brown, whose ‘rookie’ campaign ended on an ugly note against the New England Patriots.
Not surprisingly, the hapless Texans (let’s not kid ourselves, here…) were trounced by Tom Brady and the Patriots, and the rookie Moore was made an example of.
Despite the tough finish to Houston’s season, Moore was a bright spot, specifically on special teams. Moore was the Texans’ highest graded special teams player on punt coverage, according to Pro Football Focus.
Now, the guy who had to scratch and claw his way onto the NFL roster by proving his worth on special teams is in line to potentially start at safety for the Texans when the 2017 season opens.
Can he hold that position? Does he have what it takes to be a breakout player in Houston’s secondary?
We only have a limited number of snaps to go off of from his rookie season, but there were definitely positive signs. Positive enough that the Texans let go of a guy like Demps, who has proven he can be a very good coverage safety in this league.
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Moore still faces an uphill battle before he’s going to be a true ‘breakout’ candidate.
He has to prove he can play at a high level consistently.
He didn’t really have many moments last season where he was so bad that it was evident the Texans couldn’t include him as part of their future plans. He had some bad moments in coverage, but for the most part, Moore remained steady.
He may never be a flashy safety, but he’s definitely the type of player that can excel in the box and improve in his coverage abilities.
After learning from Demps the past two seasons, Moore has seen what it takes to be a starter in the NFL and what kind of consistency is required to hold that job. It’s a task he’s certainly up to, and he’s gaining trust from the coaches.
Entering his third season, Moore stands a pretty good chance of starting off the season with the Texans’ top defense, one that figures to be among the best in the NFL.