Michigan edge Derrick Moore | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The top of the totem pole of edge rushers in the 2026 NFL Draft contains plenty of different archetypes, and another interesting watch is Michigan Wolverines' star Derrick Moore. He put it all together in his final collegiate campaign, and enters the draft all over the Top-10 positional prospect rankings of draft analysts.
Coming from the powerhouse St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, Moore saw the field in short spurts as soon as his freshman season, ending 2022 with 2 sacks. The next two years were equally decent, picking up 5 and 4 sacks respectively, before his major breakout in 2025. His senior season was far and away his best statistically, hitting double-digit sacks and putting himself on the map of premier draft-eligible edge rushers.
Solid inside jab, places himself well in gaps, and can break up passes at the line
Holds contain well, drives his hands up and through the lineman’s pads, and cements his base
Decent footwork to drop back into coverage and survive across the middle
Works up and through tackles when bull rushing, gets himself into a good spot, and has the power to generate pressure
Disciplined when sitting in gaps against the run, won’t allow himself to be driven off of his assignment
Works laterally and behind himself well to crash on ball carriers and limit second-level gains
Times his engagements on speed-to-power transitions effectively, lets himself work into the tackle’s torso and rip through it
Always stays moving and can get himself involved in plays during their later stages
First inside step is sharp when he uses it, and he locks out his shoulder well to finish working through gaps
Can be really impressive working linearly through tackles when his technique is right
Rip move is violent and deadly when he can time it right, and he re-centers himself to beeline for the QB when he executes it properly
Weaknesses:
Struggles to time snaps in two-point stances, will get bouncy, and fail to launch out of his lower half
Plays a bit high when trying to move the line laterally
Can get bunched up in traffic at the line, especially when working against screens
Needs to keep his hands more active as a pass rusher, gets contained by tackles, and isn’t as violent as desired when shedding blocks
Will stay too patient against the run at times, will attack the ball carrier without momentum, and miss some tackles
Allows himself to get drawn too far outside and driven around the pocket instead of closing it
Holds his ground against the run, but doesn't shed many quick blocks to make impact plays
Doesn’t engage tackles with a ton of force, needs to become craftier to win some reps
Acceleration is somewhat limited on tape, won’t sink into his base, and shoot through his legs to gain momentum; this becomes an issue especially when he’s chipped
Not the tallest frame, doesn’t have the length to work laterally and wrap up plays away from his frame
Doesn’t have high-end fluidity in his lower half and will struggle when he can't work mostly in a linear fashion
NFL Outlook:
Moore is certainly more of a pass-rushing EDGE prospect than a complete defender, but he has the tools to be selected in the earlier rounds of the draft. His speed-to-power transitions are among his premier qualities, with finishing moves that optimize his win rate. He’s a Day 1 contributor at the NFL level, albeit likely not in an every-down role. He can offer teams a boost to their pass rush, and his development could yield anywhere from a decent rotational player to a solid all-around impact piece.
NFL Player Comparison
Former Cincinnati Bengals DE Sam Hubbard is one player who comes to mind when comparing Moore to an NFL talent, as well as being someone who landed in a similar draft position to his current projection. Hubbard played 7 years in the NFL, all for the Bengals, and recorded 38.5 total sacks in his career. His run defense was always adequate, more than Moore can say, but much of his NFL success came through rushing the passer. If Moore can refine his pass rush arsenal, he could become a similarly valuable piece to whatever defense gets to mold his game.
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