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One of the Jets’ most intriguing picks in the 2025 draft is fourth-round safety Malachi Moore.
While nothing is guaranteed, I think we have a pretty good feel for what the Jets got in the first three rounds with first-rounder, right tackle Armand Membou, second-rounder, tight end Mason Taylor, and third-rounder, cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.
It would be a major surprise if Membou and Taylor aren’t solid contributors. If the Jets have a good pass rush, Thomas should be a steady corner. The rookie has a lot of talent, but with 4.58 speed, you don’t want to ask him to hold up on an island forever.
But with Moore, it’s really hard to know what to expect.
Where will he play – safety or nickel? Why was he somewhat under the radar in the draft process as an Alabama defensive back? Is there a little concern based on his outburst in a loss to Vanderbilt last year, when he kicked the football after a ref set it, and also shoved a Commodore’s player?
I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what to expect from this prospect. But film junky, E.J. Snyder, of the popular “Bootleg Football” podcast, loves the prospect.
“Very underrated player and Aaron Glenn knows exactly what he’s looking at,” said Snyder right after the Jets made the pick.
I want to stop right there for a second and focus on Snyder saying, “Glenn knows exactly what he’s looking at.”
Totally agree with that one. Not sure about Glenn’s scouting acumen at every position, but we know darn well the cat knows how to spot secondary talent.
Glenn was obviously a great defensive back during his playing days and then went on to be a terrific defensive back coach in both New Orleans and Detroit. Yes, he was the DC in Detroit, but he was very hands-on in the secondary.
While in Detroit, he did a masterful job of developing third-round safety Kerby Joseph, whom the Lions gave a huge second contract to this offseason.
So while there is no guarantee about any draft prospect, it’s hard not to trust Glenn when it comes to spotting secondary talent.
“This is a very experienced SEC safety,” Snyder said. “Malachi Moore is all kind of everything on tape.
“Missed tackle rate, second lowest in this class after only (Penn State’s) Kevin Winston Jr., who didn’t miss one. Coverage snaps per reception, second in this class – prevented a lot of throws by being in the right place. Tons of ball production.
“One of the more alignment versatile safeties – 219 snaps in the box, 350 as a free safety, 180 in the slot, so you can play him anywhere in the secondary, he’s incredibly versatile, and that is a value in modern NFL defenses.
“Good size, good enough speed, he ran in the 4.5s. This is a very good tackler, very, very good football player, versatile, I don’t know why he wasn’t talked about more. I think they got a great value in Malachi Moore.”
Did the Vanderbilt outburst make him slip?
“A lot of people weren’t talking about him, maybe had some character things,” Snyder said. “I didn’t get any injury things on him, but I didn’t get anything on the character either, but I thought there’s got to be something – because you look at him on tape, with his experience, with his size and his ability to tackle, his ability to get the defense in the right spot. This is a very good football player, and almost nobody said his name throughout the process.”
But the character concerns, if they exist, would be a little surprising, because this guy was a two-time captain at Alabama, one of the nation’s top college programs.
“Always a good thing, two-year team captain,” said NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein.
“You want team captains and guys from winning programs when you are trying to turn around a program – you want guys with the leadership ability,” said former NFL scout and player Bucky Brooks.
And let’s not forget, the Jets traded up (with Philadelphia) to pick this player.
It will be fun to see what the Jets got in Moore, once the real football starts.
June 23, 2025
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