Las Vegas Raiders: Grading the 7-player 2021 NFL Draft class
Las Vegas Raiders: Grading the 7-player 2021 NFL Draft class
Round 2: No. 43 – Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU
Many mock drafts had the Raiders picking Trevon Moehrig with the 17th overall pick so to snag him in the second round may be an absolute steal. Moehrig was considered one of the best safeties in the class but due to a pre-draft back injury he started to slide, and two other safeties were drafted ahead of him.
The Raiders saw the opportunity to snag the best safety in the class and chose to move up, trading their fourth-round pick to San Francisco and getting this pick and a 7th rounder in return. The irony of having Moehrig available at pick 43 is that some pundits, including Vic Tafur of The Athletic, had them picking him and Leatherwood with the first two picks but the Bama tackle was the second rounder.
Regardless of where they picked Moehrig, this fills a major need as they had Jeff Heath lined up to be the starting free safety before the draft. They have Karl Joseph on the roster as well but Heath was the projected starter until they selected Moehrig.
Now they have a true free safety who was one of the highest-graded players coming out of college this year and a player many had as the best at his position.
Moehrig can slot in immediately as the starting free safety and his combination of size (6-0, 202lbs) and speed (4.5 40) makes him a perfect fit in Gus Bradley’s defense. The Raiders have shown they lean towards drafting for need but they also get one of the consensus top defensive players as well.