Las Vegas Raiders: Trevon Moehrig could be a day one game changer

With their second pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected prospect Trevon Moehrig who many thought would be their first selection in this year’s draft. Moehrig was arguably this year’s best safety available in the 2021 NFL Draft class and showed lots of production at TCU. Moehrig led all safeties in pass breakups and collected seven interceptions throughout his college career.

Picking up Moehrig in the second many people see it as a steal and could turn into a gamechanger on the back end of the Las Vegas Raiders defense in the short future.

Trevon Moehrig stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs around 200 pounds while possessing great speed at his size. Like already mentioned, Moehrig showed great potential in college to be a deep safety at the next level but has all the tools to be very disruptive in run defense as well. Great hip flexibility and quick movements in designated zones can translate to getting quickly into the trenches or on outside runs in run defense. Moehrig early on will be asked to play deeper since that is where production was truly seen in college, but with all the tools in his bag it would not be surprising to see Moehrig line up in more unconventional spots once comfortable in the Raiders defense.

Moehrig is a big threat in the secondary because of his great ball skills. Having that great of a catch radius at the safety position is a bonus for anyone playing the position and Moehrig showed the ability to make tough grabs in coverage. This is what makes Moehrig have the game-changing ability because while the physicality is there for run support, but also has the ability to make plays in the outfield to change possession for his squad. Moehrig plays his assignments well, has quick instincts to make plays, and has an all-around game at the safety position to be a problem in the third tier of the Las Vegas Raiders defense.

The Las Vegas Raiders have two other safeties that will play alongside Moehrig in this Raiders defense who has shown great production and potential. To start, Johnathan Abram has shown lots of potential in being a tackle-first safety and played well in run coverage. Then the signing of Karl Joseph also brings that hard-hitting mentality to the position in their secondary. All three of these guys are physical in nature and bring a new identity to this Raiders defense. Although with the skills already mentioned, Moehrig is most likely going to be slotted in as the starting free safety for the Raiders next year and use the other two at strong safety and even some hybrid linebacker roles.

Everything lines up for Trevon Moehrig to have a quick impact on the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders wanted to move up for him in the draft before he fell to them in the second round, he has the best ball skills at the safety position in his draft, and having guys on his roster that can take on the strong safety role for this defense opens up a clear role for him. Combining his physical traits in being a physical tackler in run defense and having great control to go along with playing his assignments well equals a lot of promise for Trevon Moehrig. Moehrig should be a day one starter and has the potential to be a day one gamechanger for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.