Riley Moss is the Classic Bend But Don’t Break Corner

Successfully playing cornerback in the NFL comes down to a couple of key things.

Does Iowa’s cornerback (CB) Riley Moss have those things?

No.

In today’s NFL with receivers who can change direction on a dime at route breakpoints, defenses need corners who can not only match these routes, but they need them to be able to make a play on the ball.

Moss projects to be a decent No. 2 corner on the bottom half of NFL teams.

He is not showing on game film he has what it takes to be an elite shutdown corner at the next level.

Fox Sports mocked Moss into the first-round

This is what initially got me to look at Moss.

Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports mocked Moss No. 27 overall to the New York Giants on Nov. 2.

While Moss shows some good things on the game film, I am not seeing first-round ability in the game film embedded in his evaluation below.

What are Moss’ best characteristics?

He has good pure straight-line speed and he shows excellent techniques.

In fact, watching his techniques reminded me of Roger McCreary last season at Auburn (Titans selected him second-round No. 35 in the 2022 NFL Draft).

I told anyone who would listen pre-draft that McCreary was beyond his years when it came to his technique, and I was convinced that Bill Belichick would take him in New England.

Ironically, one of Belichick’s guys took him instead, 2022 NFL Coach of the Year, Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel played with the Patriots before getting into coaching.

What McCreary lacked he made up the difference with technique.

Moss is not as talented as McCreary, but he did do an excellent job keeping the game in front of him (because he gave up a lot, probably too much cushion), using his hands, and maintaining inside route leverage on vertical sideline routes.

He can run too – against Iowa State, he ran all the way across the field to make a touchdown-saving tackle.

Heck, Moss looked more like the receiver on a deep pass down the middle of the field, than Penn State’s first-round receiver Jahan Dotson on a big interception laying out for the ball.

Moss plays mostly in off-man and zone

Having corners in the NFL who can come up and aggressively get in receivers’ faces and play press man is ideal.

It takes a special type of athlete who can do this in close quarters with elite-level receivers while staying in phase.

In Iowa’s scheme, Moss did play a little press-man coverage, but the vast majority of his reps were seen in off-man and some zone.

Here’s the big concern

In off-man and zone coverage, corners must be able to drive back downhill hard and be able to secure tackles.

Not only did Moss miss a few tackles in these situations, but he is pretty reluctant in support overall (both pass and run).

This is going to be a serious issue in terms of fitting him in as a starter into a scheme at the next level because he is not the answer as a press-man starter.

#33 Riley Moss 6-foot-1, 193 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Grade: Fourth-Round – Fall 2022 Report

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Projected by 0.8% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of November 10, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2021 game film reviewed: Penn State, Iowa State and Maryland (click to watch games viewed to form this evaluation)

Level of competition: High

2021 stats: 39 tackles (34 solo, 5 assists), 5 passes defended, 4 INT.

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Alert off-man and zone corner with good straight-line speed and technique, but is inconsistent at tackling. Can run and stay with receivers on straight-line routes. Matches well initially in press man, but lacks short-area burst and has decent, but not great athletic ability. Uses hands well. Keeps an eye on the backfield. Gave huge cushions and could mostly only secure tackles after the damage had been done. Can be toasted on routes that work back to the quarterback. Inconsistent securing short-range tackles back downhill. Good ball tracking skills deep. Ends up by pile most of the time in run support. Ordinary looking prospect.

What to watch for during the 2022 college football season:

1. What are his interception and passes defended numbers?
2. How does he look in press-man coverage?
3. Does he show a short-area burst?
4. Does he stay healthy? (PCL injury 2021)

He’s not great and he’s not horrible – – he’s somewhere in between.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.