Name: Derrick Moore
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 256 lbs.
High school: Baltimore (MD) St. Frances
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Moore #27 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He made 34 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown, and 4 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 83
Moore has been a solid player for Michigan since he arrived on campus in 2022. With his stout frame and perhaps underappreciated athleticism, he never looked out of place. From his freshman to sophomore year, he shed some weight, from the 270s to the 250s. While he notched 5 sacks last year and even scored a touchdown on a blocked punt against Maryland, he has yet to have a real signature performance. Part of that was because he was playing behind Braiden McGregor, Jaylen Harrell, and Mike Morris over the past couple seasons.
This year I expect Moore to play a little bit . . . more. He was at 410 snaps last season, which was just 5 behind McGregor (who recently made the 53-man cut with the New York Jets despite being undrafted). But Michigan has a tougher schedule and a weaker offense in 2024; they also have less depth. So I think the starters will have to play more snaps rather than taking a break in the fourth quarter of half the games. I also expect Moore's performance to improve. He and Josaiah Stewart were a nice second wave of edge players in 2023, and they also happened to be the highest graded edges on the team, but there's still room for Moore to grow as a player. Some people have talked about him being a first-rounder in the NFL draft; I don't think we've seen the consistency from him to expect that, but he should be even better in 2024.
Prediction: Starting defensive end; 50 tackles, 7 sacks
Play hard and earn 1st Round money young man!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Braden McGregor for making the Jets! Great to see and it further enhances the fact that Moore was, by the end of the year, playing more snaps than McGregor. So we've got an NFL caliber DE in there.
ReplyDeleteI've heard some talk that he's a breakout player but Moore is already quite old and may have hit his ceiling. He's older than Josiah Stewart. Older than Rod Moore. He'll turn 22 a week after the Ohio State game.
Doesn't matter! He's already very good and he should get more snaps this year without having to share with McGregor. AND he plays next to Graham and Grant so he's going to get a lot of one on one matchups on the edge. Production should be plentiful.
Looking forward to a big season from a star DE. If he's not somewhere on the all Big Ten teams, I'll be disappointed.
Sidenote -- Along with McGregor, Harrel is also on an NFL roster which means Stewart and Moore are both probably NFL caliber players. Meanwhile, 3 of our 4 7th round draft picks have been cut. Going in the 7th round is a mixed blessing because you can't control your fate quite as well as being a top flight UDFA and going in the 7th round doesn't necessarily mean much for your NFL hopes and dreams either.
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