Fabian Moreau DB UCLA 6’0 205
Welcome back to The B&G Report. Hope you enjoyed the Victory Monday post! With only two weeks remaining in the season, we have a jammed pack slate of topics to discuss over the coming weeks and months! The who will stay and who will go chatter, has already started in Redskins Park. Before we get to that point though, we must take a deeper look at the current rookies on the roster. Today the Spotlight shines on Cornerback Fabian Morea. The former UCLA Bruin had P a boom or bust label early on, per some draft experts. Figuring out where Moreau will fit going forward will be key.
The Draft Prospect
The Redskins drafted Fabian Moreau 81st overall. The Redskins scouting department had a high grade on him going into draft night. During his Pro day Moreau tore his pectoral muscle, while performing the bench press in front of NFL Scouts. Viewed as a late 1st/2nd round prospect, the injury scared teams off. The Skins Player Personnel Department viewed the former Bruin, as a potential replacement for Bashaud Breeland in my opinion. The Free Agent to be will most likely be leaving for greener pastures in 2018 and when I say “greener pastures”, I mean pastures filled with money! The former Bruin was actually scouted as a running back, before switching to defensive back early in his college career. He finished his career at UCLA with 149 tackles, 21 pass deflectionsand 3 interceptions. Two of his interceptions came during his senior year, one interception coming from the consensus 2018 #1 overall Draft Prospect USC’s Sam Darnold. Per his UCLA coaches, Moreau loves to mix it up with opposing receivers and is a film junky (see YouTube above). The knock on Morea though is his tendency to play over aggressive at the line. Personally I’ll take an over aggressive press corner, over a corner who constantly plays off man. I’ve watched a lot of film on Moreau and he’s raw, but with Skins DB’s Coach Torrian Gray mentoring him he could be special player. Moreau made some early noise this season on special teams, coming up with a few punt coverage stops. As the season churned on though, it seems the grind of the NFL has caught up with Fabian. He’s been in and out of the lineup with nagging injuries. The UCLA product has decent size at 6’0 205, but needs more conditioning for the yearly grind of the NFL. He has the type of frame that could add another 5-10 lbs, which could give him an edge versus some of the more physical NFL receivers.
Expectations
Moreau was drafted along with Kendall Fuller in 2016, in order to revamp the Skins weak secondary. So far Fuller has exceeded expectations as one the of leagues top slot corners, Morea could follow suit in 2018. As I previously mentioned, Breeland looks to have one foot out the door on his way to a Free Agency pay day. As it stands next years Skins corners will be; Josh Norman, Quinten Dunbar, Kendall Fuller, Fabian Moreau and Joshua Holsey. Depending on if the Skins draft another corner high in the next draft. Moreau and Holsey could be fighting each other for a roster spot in 2018. In a previous B&G Rookie Spotlight, Holsey was featured and has a ton of tenacity and potential! I give Moreau the nod over Holsey though, simply based on his draft slot and his ceiling for now. This year the focus just needs to be on Special Teams (see YouTube above).
The Redskins Draft picks have been a mixed bag over the last decade. The last two drafts for the Skins have netted undeniable talent in the mid-late rounds though. The front office needs to be commended for finding a few late round gems, but the early picks have been the issue. Players like John Allen and Josh Doctson both dealt with injury issues during their rookie seasons, but they look to be the core of the organization going forward. Regardless of what draft slot the Redskins fall to, the talent will be abundant this year! In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing some Under the Radar Draft Prospects, as well as Reader Requests Draft Prospects!