The Las Vegas Raiders were delighted to select college football’s 2020 Jim Thorpe Award winner, safety Trevon Moehrig, in the second round of this year’s draft. But now that he’s on the field battling for a starting spot at Raiders training camp, how special can Moehrig become?
That question will be answered in the months and years to come. But Moehrig is healthy — a back injury caused him to slide to the 43rd selection in the draft — and he’s already made an impression on the leader of the Raiders, quarterback Derek Carr.
Moehrig played superb defense against starting slot receiver Hunter Renfrow during one-on-one drills at Wednesday’s practice, which is very unusual for a rookie safety, or any safety, for that matter. The play left Carr in awe and asking for more.
“This guy can actually cover, so it’s impressive,” Carr said of Moehrig, according to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. “Especially Hunter, that guy doesn’t get covered. God bless Moehrig the next day we go out there and he has to cover Hunter. He doesn’t like to get covered twice.”
Moehrig hasn’t had to face the wrath of Renfrow just yet, thanks to a day off for the Raiders on Thursday. But as Carr went on praising Moehrig, he had a simple request: make life difficult for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, too.
“A safety on a slot receiver, that should be a mismatch … but he lined up and accepted that challenge and made the play,” Carr said. “Like that’s in the back of the end zone and I tried to put it out there, and he said, ‘No, not this time.’ And that excites me as a quarterback because I want him to do that to (Patrick) Mahomes.”
While Moehrig is officially a work in progress, it’s clear that Carr already expects a lot from the former TCU star. At 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds with evident coverage skills, Carr is likely correct to have high expectations, as are the Raiders. Moehrig didn’t get immediate snaps with the first unit, but he’s worked his way in there already with time to spare before camp closes.
On a defense that must improve mightily in 2021, despite youth and uncertainty at numerous positions, Moehrig, with his apparent versatility, could be a player that helps bring it all together. It will be fascinating to watch him develop, and so far, he’s clearly made quite the impression in Henderson.
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