Trevon Moehrig Draft Prospect Profile and Scouting Report

TCU safety Trevon Moehrig is profiled in advance of the 2021 NFL Draft

Name: Trevon Moehrig

School: Texas Christian University (TCU)

Class: Jr

Position: Safety

Height: 6-2                         

Weight: 202

 

STATS:

 

 

General Info:

Trevon Moehrig could be just the game-changing piece new coordinators Joe Barry and Maurice Drayton need to help them succeed in their first year in Green Bay.

Moehrig was recently announced by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame as the winner of the 2020 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award recognizing him as the best defensive back in college football, beating out Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II and UCF Safety Richie Grant. He was also a semi-finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award to cap off a 2020 season which has seen his draft stock rise exponentially. It’s an ambiguous picture at the Safety position but Moehrig has staked his claim as the best in class.

Moehrig played cornerback and receiver for Smithson Valley High School in San Antonio, in addition to running track. He earned first-team all-district honors in his sophomore and junior year with 38 tackles and 7 interceptions, running 2 back for touchdowns. He also contributed on special teams returning 4 punts and 2 kick-offs for touchdowns.

Trevon was graded as a 4-star prospect out of high school and was rated as the 4th cornerback in Texas and No.19 in the nation - he was rated the 23rd overall player from Texas and 193 nationally. The Spring Branch native received offers from multiple Power 5 programs including Georgia, Baylor, Stanford, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Northwestern, but opted to sign with the Horned Frogs of TCU.

As a true freshman, Moehrig transitioned to Safety and made an instant impact playing in 12 games, starting 2 and being named the Frog’s Special Teams MVP for the season. His first start against Oklahoma saw him register 7 tackles (1 for loss). His first career pick came in his second start against Baylor in a 16-9 win.

His sophomore year saw him contribute more on defense when Moehrig was rated the highest-graded safety in FBS by Pro Football Focus (PFF). He was also graded as having the third-most valuable season since PFF began tracking college football. He had breakout games against Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas. He placed second on TCU with 4 picks and 11 pass break-ups, allowing only 2 completions in 17 contested targets. He tied Jeff Gladney for 14th nationally with 1.25 passes defended per game. He also placed second on TCU with 62 tackles and tied for the team lead with 2 forced fumbles and 1 recovery. There was barely a stat ‘Tre’ didn’t have involvement in and he was rewarded with First-Team All-Big 12 and AP All-Big 12 honors.

His rise continued into his junior year (2020) as he was named to 7 All-American teams and was again selected First Team All-Big 12 and AP All-Big 12, as well as the aforementioned Jim Thorpe Award. He was named Team Captain in every game. Moehrig had a solid season again, which he punctuated with some standout performances. He was second in passes defended in the Big 12, third on the team with 47 tackles (2.0 for loss), had 9 PBU’s and 2 picks. Arguably the highlight of the season was the game-saving interception in the final minutes against #15 ranked Oklahoma State in a 29-22 win. He recorded single game career-highs in PBU’s with 3 against Oklahoma and tackles with 10 at West Virginia.

Moehrig could have opted out (like oft-compared Pitt safety Paris Ford) and declared for the draft on the back of his 2019 season. It speaks volumes of the man and the player that not only didn’t he do that; he Captained his team and put together another great season.

Positional Skills

Strengths

His aggression and willingness to make plays in the run game make him useful from the Free Safety position in the run defense and in the box.

As you would expect from a Free Safety, he really shines in the passing game. He is outstanding in zone coverage and has excellent perception to read the receiver and the quarterback. He anticipates plays and gets to the ball, undercutting slant routes. As his stats from TCU indicate, he has a habit of being around the ball and has good ball-skills to deflect or intercept it (as his stats indicate).

He was often the general of the TCU secondary, directing other players, diagnosing route patterns and communicating with his unit. He was an ever-present Team Captain in 2020 and his character and leadership were recognized by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame when assessing the finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Though occasionally beaten by double-moves (see below), he has the physicality and the speed to make up for it. He has good awareness of his body and his position on the field. He works well as the last line of defense, from where he can scan the middle of the field, read the game and position himself to make a play.

He also has a clean injury record.

Weaknesses

Tackling technique and angles in run-support require some coaching. Moehrig will occasionally be over-aggressive in an attempt to make a play and as such, be susceptible to cuts and gashes from runners. He’s more of a shoulder and toe tackler and will have to be taught to wrap-up at the pro level. He also takes some awkward angles when chasing runners.

Whilst he has the physicality to make it up when beaten college, in the NFL every receiver is that much faster and Moehrig will need improvement in man-coverage schemes, especially against double moves. Failure to adjust to this means he could be liable to giving up big plays.

Fortunately, his high football IQ and determination ensures he is likely to be extremely coachable.

Fit with the Packers

If, as is widely reported, Barry has been hired to implement a Fangio/Staley style two-high-coverage-disguise defense, then Moehrig could be an extremely useful weapon in that system - Fangio’s defenses historically run a heavy dose of Cover 2 with plenty of zone. Fangio likes his safeties to be interchangeable and will disguise coverage and move the FS into the run defense, which Moehrig has shown production in. Furthermore, Moehrig’s versatility will ensure disguises are convincing.

Staley’s Rams defenses (which Barry was involved in) played zone 80% of the time with a mix of Cover 1, Cover 3 and Cover 6 whilst still being a top-5 ranked run defense. They often disguised safety looks with two-high pre-snap, only to drop one. Jaire Alexander would assume the Jalen Ramsey role, playing man-coverage whilst the remainder of the defense played zone. Moehrig is most accomplished in a single-high and two-high safety schemes, such as Cover 1 and Tampa 2.

Packer fans rejoice, because Staley often sent 5-man rushes on third-downs to create favorable match-ups in the secondary. Again, Moehrig’s high football IQ, ability to read plays, physicality and ball-handling could make him a huge success providing Rashan Gary, Zadarius Smith and Kenny Clark can create sufficient pressure up-front.

The hiring of Joe Barry would indicate Coach LaFleur is aiming to revamp his defense in a similar way he has with the offense and whilst drafting a cornerback is more likely for pick 29, Moehrig could and would be an absolute steal if the Packers found a way to get him in Round 2. He is a proven and willing Special Teams player and could help Maurice Drayton reinvigorate the much-maligned Packers unit.

Also, of interest is that the LA Rams have used two top-100 picks on hybrid safeties (Taylor Rapp and John Johnson III) to help them implement this scheme. The Packers have more at the position in Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage Jr however, don’t be surprised if the Packers sweeten the Joe Barry deal and highlight the shift in philosophy by using one of their top picks on a hybrid defender.

 

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Comments (7)

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PackEyedOptimist's picture

March 16, 2021 at 04:43 pm

I’d love to have Moehrig picked by the Packers s. Even in the first round. I think hesitate going to be a Pro Bowl safety, and it would allow Savage to be nickel back.

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stockholder's picture

March 16, 2021 at 06:27 pm

No

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Mike Rossmeier's picture

March 16, 2021 at 06:35 pm

CB, OT, WR come before Safety.

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cms's picture

March 16, 2021 at 11:42 pm

He's a play-making DB and we desperately need that! I would be happy if we got him @29. I like Newsome also, hopefully one of them is there.

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Stroh's picture

March 17, 2021 at 12:13 am

CB, DT and OT are the biggest needs going into FA and the draft. Safety should be down the list, behind those and even WR and ILB. Sounds like a good player but no way would the Packers use a 1st on him.

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PackEyedOptimist's picture

March 17, 2021 at 03:12 pm

Hey Stroh, I agree that CB, OT, and a DL are the greatest needs, and I think an OT or CB is the likely first round (and second round) pick. However, the DL in this draft look TERRIBLE to me. The reason I'd be happy to see Moehrig taken with 29 is that I think he can have the same effect that Harrison Smith has had for the Vikings (who I REALLY wanted the Packers to pick that year :( ). I think he's a guy who can become the heart-and-soul-leader of a defense. It's about value. I also think he fills a need; slot cover is a weak spot, and Darnell Savage could become the best slot cover guy in the league. I expect the Packers to pick up a veteran CB and OT before the draft, so that will influence the pick a lot.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 17, 2021 at 12:14 am

The presence of players like Aaron Donald, Sebastion Joseph, and Brockers (sometimes Suh in the past) on the defensive line means the DC can do a lot of things in the secondary because the run defense starts up front and needs no emphasis from the scheme.

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