Getting coaches to comment on a player’s progress during the offseason can often be a chore. So when a coordinator brings up a player unprompted and then praises him, it’s worth taking notice.
That’s exactly what happened on Sunday when Lions special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs virtually met with the Lions media and brought up safety C.J. Moore and his contributions during training camp.
“Hesitate to single anybody out, but I would say, C.J. Moore is a guy who has had an outstanding camp,” Coombs said. “I would say first off, you talk about just a great kid, hard worker, has worked for everything.”
Moore, an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi in 2019, made the Lions roster last season based on his ability to contribute on special teams as a starting gunner. But Coombs has asked Moore to change roles this offseason and he has taken on Tavon Wilson’s old role as Personal Protector (PP).
The “PP” is a massively important role on special teams as he is the last line of defense for the punter, typically setting up five-yards back from the long snapper. The PP is responsible for recognizing the punt rush formation and making blocking adjustments accordingly.
“To be perfectly frank,” Coombs continued, “(Moore) is a guy probably that I underestimated coming in as a new coach and probably I was just wrong on just going off of the tape and my perception of him coming in but has really just kind of took the bull by the horns.
“You know, the guy had multiple tackles as a gunner last year, was a starting gunner and I’m sure you guys have seen – kind of I came in and asked him to move to PP, and not only the PP, but moved him to be the backup PP and he never complained. Never tried to convince me that he was best where he was, just really embraced it, dove in headfirst, wore me and ‘Mule’ (Don Muhlbach) out all offseason just learning the protection aspect of playing that position and did a great job, has really earned everything that he is getting right now in terms of playing time and opportunities.”
As the Lions fifth safety on the depth chart, Moore entered camp firmly on the roster bubble, but his ability to stand out on special teams could earn him another year in the NFL.
“So, that would be a guy (Moore) that I am very, very excited with, excited for, and really proud of,” Coombs continued. “I would say, just the way he handled everything, the way he approaches everything on a daily basis. We have a team of 53 guys like that, we’ll be in great shape. There’s a lot of other guys I could rattle off, but a guy who’s really stood out in camp as one of our best players would be C.J.”
Go ahead and find a spot for him in your 53-man roster projections.