2014 NFL Draft: Morgan Moses Draft Profile

Morgan Moses
Position: OT
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 314 (that was his combine weight, he played at 325 for the Hoos last year)
Age: 23 (I think)

Coming out of HS in 2009, Moses was a Parade and SuperPrep All American. He was the #5 OT and the #49 overall player according to Rivals. According to ESPN, he was 6th and 48th. He was recruited by most of the top programs in the nation. After signing with Virginia, he was unable to gain eligibility and spent a season at FUMA (Fork Union Military Academy). After that season, he enrolled at UVA and was starting by his 6th game. He started 7 games that season, 6 at RT and 1 at RG. He was named to several freshman All-America teams.

Moses entered his sophomore season as the starting RT and spent the entire season there. That team had the same 5 starting linemen all season long, which is a big part of why that team was so good. As a junior, Moses started at RT in 11 out of 12 games, but played in all 12. He didn't start on week because of a lingering injury, but still saw action during the contest. As a senior, after the departure of Oday Aboushi (now with the Jets), Moses moved to LT. He started all 12 games there and was the leader on an OL that was good enough for Kevin Parks to break the 1000 yard mark, the first Wahoo back to rush for 1000 yards since 2004.

Moses could've declared for the draft last year. He would've been drafted. Maybe not in the first round, but he would've gone. He decided to come back, and that seems to have been the right decision. Despite the Hoos craptacular season, Moses performed well. Well enough to garner the attention of scouts nationwide. Moses was invited to the Senior Bowl, and he performed well there, at times dominating some of the top DL talent in college football.

For a guy his size, Moses moved extremely well. As a run blocker, he can release into the second-tier and make secondary blocks on LBs and DBs. As you'd expect for a guy his size, when he gets his hands and body onto a much smaller player, he puts them on the ground. The thing about Moses is that many DEs are much smaller and he can put them on the ground as well. Run blocking is undoubtedly Moses' strength right now. He has a very strong base which he uses to get great push against linemen. Moses will be a powerful presence to run behind on off-tackle plays.

As a pass-blocker, Moses is most comfortable with big, powerful rushers. It isn't easy to bull-rush Moses. He can struggle with quicker DEs. This is one reason that many scouts see him as a RT in the league, rather than a LT. Most defenses have their best and quickest pass rushers on the right side (which would be the offense's left side). On the right side, Moses would often have help from a TE, and also wouldn't be blocking the QBs blind side.

But, Moses proved, especially during the Senior Bowl, that he's more than capable of handling the speed rushes. Elite pass rushers who can make multiple moves may beat Moses, as he isn't the quickest at recovering. A player who can go quickly to the outside shoulder and then cut back inside before engaging, for example, could be successful. There are only so many players in the NFL with that type of ability. And, again, one Moses gets engaged, he simply doesn't get beaten.

Moses' combine performance was decent. He measured very well. He has elite size along with long arms and big hands. These are things that matter to NFL scouts. His other numbers weren't great. He ran the 40 in about 5.2 seconds, which isn't bad for a guy his size, but it isn't great either. More important for an OL is the 10 yard splits. Morgan's 10 yard split was 1.98, which again isn't bad, but isn't good. Moses' shuttle numbers and cone drill numbers were better, but again not elite.

There is a wide split in how Moses is seen by various scouts. Some scouts see his as a potentially elite LT and have him going in the top 15 or so picks. Other scouts see him stuck at RT, and have him going in the 2^nd round. As we've seen in NFL drafts before, all it takes is one team to fall in love with a player. There are a lot of teams with needs on the OL and at LT in particular. Moses is probably around 5^th or so on most team's lists of OTs. That should place him in the mid-to-late 1^st round. Earlier this week, I predicted Moses would go at #17 to the Baltimore Ravens. I'll hedge my bet here and guess that he goes with the 27^th pick to the New Orleans Saints. This would be a wonderful opportunity for him, because the Saints have a veteran QB who gets rid of the ball quickly, and while they have a number of options at OT, none of them are elite and they could use an upgrade.