4/20/2020 football Edit

NFL Draft Profile: Jalen Moore

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

With the fully-virtual NFL Draft set to start on April 23rd, BeaversEdge.com will be starting a series of NFL Draft profiles for the Oregon State hopefuls who hope to be in the mix over the course of the three-day event.

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Previously: Artavis Pierce | Blake Brandel | Gus Lavaka | Noah Togiai

After a four-year career that saw him eclipse 235 career tackles, safety Jalen Moore will be looking to take his talents to the next level. The 6-foot, 213-pounder became a staple of the Beavers' secondary as a redshirt-freshman in 2016 and never looked back, starting 31 games over the course of his career.

While a hamstring injury limited Moore to just eight games (five starts) in his senior season in 2019, he was still the glue the Beavers needed in the back end when things got tough.

Take the Utah game this past season, for example, Moore finished with a season-best 11 tackles and given the lopsided nature of the contest (52-7), there's no doubt those tackles kept the score from being even worse.

He finished with at least five tackles in five of his eight games, including six against Cal Poly and five apiece versus Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington State. Additionally, he recovered a fumble against the Sun Devils that helped seal the Beavers' senior day victory.

Make no mistake, the Beavers didn't yield a strong defensive unit for the majority of Moore's career, and as a result, he was usually the last line of defense when it came to stopping an opposing rusher or receiver from scoring. That point was punctuated and proved in 2018 when Moore led the team in tackles (102) and became the first Beaver to do so since 2013.

Moore wasn't perfect for the Beavers in his four-year career as he certainly went through growing pains and rough patches having to be in multiple defensive systems, but I credit him for always being a positive presence on the defense when not everyone was. There were some tough times on OSU's defense over the course of his career, but he was always optimistic and upbeat and that will benefit him well at the next level.

Measurables

Highlights & Draft Analysis

Projected Draft Position: 7th round to HPFA

While Moore doesn't have a ton of hype heading into the draft as far as mock drafts go, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll get a chance to prove himself at the next level.

Moore is one of the hardest working guys that was one the team over the past few years and that work ethic and his talent should keep him in the league. It's yet to be determined exactly what position he'll play at the next level, but some scouts and draft sites have him listed as an outside linebacker rather than safety.

Given Moore's tackling prowess, the shift to more of a hybrid linebacker that can cover in space when needed might be a move that establishes him in the NFL. That's not to say that he won't or can't make it as a safety, but when you look at what Moore brought to the table over the course of his career, there's no doubt he's best at putting ball-carriers on the turf.