How 49ers DB Tarvarius Moore can change San Francisco’s NFL Draft plans

With the draft fast approaching, Niner Noise lays out how defensive back Tarvarius Moore’s presence on the roster could change the San Francisco 49ers’ NFL Draft plans come April 25.

The beauty of NFL Draft season, when fans forget so much about their own team. Teams with established veterans prodded on to replace them with a high draft pick. Young players who, just a year ago, were billed as brimming with potential now considered obsolete, while fans hope they get tossed aside. Draft season affects every fan, and that’s no different for the San Francisco 49ers faithful.

One of the biggest holes on the 49ers has been the secondary, largely because the young players general manager John Lynch and Co. brought in have not developed as hoped. Last year, what was supposed to be an average to above-average secondary fell apart when players like Ahkello Witherspoon and Adrian Colbert regressed and got injured.

This stark regression has made many Niner fans convinced the 49ers need to address the secondary in the draft, hopefully with a high pick.

Yet there is a high pick on the roster right now that could subdue some of these concerns: Tarvarius Moore.

Moore, who is an athletic freak, played sparsely last year, getting his main opportunity after Witherspoon was hurt against the Seattle Seahawks late in the season. He had a tumultuous year, to say the least, but he’s still filled with potential.

With the signing of cornerback Jason Verrett, the Niners have added stiff competition for the second corner spot. Witherspoon is a more polished player than Moore. And Verrett, when healthy, is a top-tier corner.

That would leave Moore as the odd man out, essentially having the 49ers waste a third-round pick.

Or would it?

Although corner may be a need, the Niners are in desperate need of a true free safety, at the minimum to add competition to a young room. Here’s where Moore could make an impact. A free safety in college, Moore could be exactly the player the 49ers need.

Coming out of college, Moore was an elite safety prospect who was dinged because of his small-school pedigree. Nonetheless, Pro Football Focus saw him as an elite-level player:

Because of Moore’s size and length, as well as increased confidence in Colbert, the 49ers chose to move Moore to corner. However, the team’s Cover 3 zone scheme requires a lot of free safety-esqe skills. From Niner Noise’s Peter Panacy:

"Free safeties are also frequently looking at the action in front of them. 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh runs plenty of zone coverages, which often require cornerbacks to perform similar duties."

Moore’s high-end speed (he ran a 4.32 40-yard dash!) makes sure he would be able to go sideline to sideline. In short, he has all the skills necessary to be an elite safety.

Furthermore, the technique that Moore struggles with, the reason he was considered and is considered raw, isn’t an issue at safety. At safety, Moore has the ability to read and react without worrying so much about individual assignments.

The best example for who Moore could become is now-Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas, the prototype for all single-high safeties.

Just take a look at this play Thomas made with the Seahawks:

Yes, this was from 2015, so we’re looking at prime Thomas. That break to the ball and those instincts, Moore already has those skills, albeit not as elite as Thomas. With his pure athletic ability, there’s no reason why Moore couldn’t become the next great safety.

So why does this matter for the 49ers’ NFL Draft plans? Because if Moore might be a better safety prospect than those within the draft, it frees up what would be a considerably high draft pick for another position of need, like interior offensive line or a luxury wide receiver.

Tarvarius Moore vs. top picks in the 2019 NFL Draft

Time for a classic face-off. Tarvarius Moore’s raw skills and polish have me convinced he’s a better prospect than the players in the 2019 NFL Draft. So I’ll go down five of the “top” safety prospects and compare them to Moore. A quick note: I’ll be pulling these five prospects from a consensus on big boards, but this is a subjective list, and I will definitely miss a player that many consider top five.

Quickly now, Moore ran a 4.32 40-yard dash, and his film proves that it’s game speed. Moore had immense production his final year at Southern Mississippi, with three interceptions and 10 pass breakups.

That’s the player we’ll be comparing these draft prospects, too.

Moore vs. Nasir Adderley

Nasir Adderley is considered the best single-high safety in the draft, and for good reason. Look at this play:

Ranked as the highest safety on both CBS and Sports Illustrated’s big boards, Adderley’s biggest weakness, much like Moore, is the level of his competition. The only reason Moore gets an edge there is because he has relevant NFL experience, although that’s not much of a fair fight.

However, Lance Zierlein for NFL.com called Adderley “erratic in recognition and coverage duties as deep safety” and that he “struggles to locate proper pursuit angle when ball flows wide”. Furthermore, Adderley has no measurables available since he got injured (nothing major) during his pro day.

But the real reason why the 49ers should not pick Adderley is the sheer price. Adderley will not drop to pick No. 36, barring a catastrophe. And the Niners, with only six picks in what is considered a very deep draft at certain positions, might not be willing to part with the capital needed to move up to the first round.

Although Adderley may not be worse than Moore, moving up to pick him would be a worse move for San Francisco.

Tarvarius Moore vs. deeper options in the 2019 NFL Draft

Moore vs. Taylor Rapp and Johnathan Abram

Washington’s Taylor Rapp is a great player, one that the 49ers could add. However, he is not what the Niners need right now. Rapp, per Walter Football, will primarily be a strong safety in the NFL, as his coverage skills are not his strong suit. Same thing applies with Mississippi State’s Johnathan Abram, who projects as a dime linebacker, per Sports Illustrated.  Regardless of how good a player they are, the 49ers have no need for another strong safety, with Jaquiski Tartt and Marcell Harris both excellent options at that position.

To fill the single-high role, Moore would clearly be the move.

Moore vs. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson

After Adderley, many of the top safeties are not pure single-high safeties. Some of them, like Rapp, are guaranteed strong/box safeties following the draft. Others like Florida’s Chauncey Gardner-Johnson have the capacity to play both positions.

Gardner-Johnson played for Florida, so there’s no concern of easy competition. Compared to Moore, though, it’s hard to say that Gardner-Johnson is the better free safety. Zierlein breaking him down wrote how “Gardner-Johnson is too often a step behind in his reads and reaction allowing completions that could be breakups.”

If Gardner-Johnson, who also would have to be taken in the second round, has the same issue of “polish” like Moore, then my money goes to the player with better raw tools. Moore’s 40-yard time beats that of almost every safety in the draft, and that sideline-to-sideline ability is crucial.

The 49ers should opt for the cheaper, more explosive option in house.

Moore vs. Darnell Savage Jr.

This is hard. Not just because Maryland’s Darnell Savage is my favorite secondary player in the NFL Draft, but because the two players are largely the same. Savage was discounted throughout the year. But the pre-draft process, with his 40-yard time (4.39) and overall testing, found on the Draft Network, had him shoot up draft boards.

The only major knock I have on Savage is his size; he’s very small at 5-foot-11, not that it would matter much at the free safety position. Savage also could be available in the third round, and he would definitely be available in the second round. But again, Moore has the same ability and potential that Savage has. Savage would definitely be a solid addition, but why would the 49ers take a player they already have on their roster?

Although Moore is not a perfect player by any means, he has the required skills to be the free safety the Niners need, and putting him at free safety functionally acts as a draft pick. Each of these other players have flaws or cost quite a bit of capital. Moving Moore to free safety is the best move the 49ers can make for the team and regarding the draft.

If the Niners choose not to address the safety position in Round 2, who do you think they should select. I would select wide receiver A.J. Brown. Comment down below!