While the early returns on first-round pick Alex Leatherwood weren’t great, the Raiders strike gold with another early selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
In Round 2, the Raiders traded up for safety Trevon Moehrig and that move couldn’t have worked out better. Moehrig was one of the best safeties in the NFL last season. He played over 1,100 snaps on defense for the Raiders, totaling 55 tackles and six pass deflections.
In a recent article by Nick Shook of NFL.com, he named a player from each team that could make the first Pro Bowl of their career during the 2022 season. For the Raiders, that was none other than Moehrig. Here is what Shook had to say about the second-year safety from TCU:
“Moehrig impressed many in his first NFL season, and I’m picking him here because of what Las Vegas did this offseason to the group that plays in front of the second-year safety. After a regime change, the Raiders acquired All-Pro edge rusher Chandler Jones and linebacker Jayon Brown to bolster their front seven.
If that duo can help the team get after the passer and stop the run better than it did in 2021 — mind you, Las Vegas already boasted the best pass-rushing duo in Maxx Crosby and the since-departed Yannick Ngakoue — then Moehrig should find ample opportunities to make a difference on the back end. And if he makes the most of those chances, Moehrig just might find himself in the Pro Bowl conversation.”
As Shook mentioned, the pass rush should be much improved for the Raiders this season and that should help the coverage overall. But the Raiders are going to ask more of Moehrig this season, likely using him even more in the box on early downs.
If Moehrig can continue to improve on his rookie season, it wouldn’t be a shock at all if he was named to the Pro Bowl this year. He could be one of the biggest breakout players for the Raiders this season as he’s going to have an even bigger role.