Dylan Moses is a linebacker who has all of the measurables that scouts like to see but when you get down to the nitty gritty and watch his tape he’s not as appealing as he looks. He magnifies his weaknesses and doesn’t capitalize on his strengths. He does however, have the versatility to play any linebacker spot save for mike linebacker, and play it in man or zone.

Strengths: 

  • Size/Speed Combination

Watching Dylan Moses it’s obvious that he has great physical tools that can really be improved upon at the NFL level. He’s got a solid frame at 6’3 235 and has room to add more weight because of his build. He also has solid speed and plays well from sideline to sideline as well as when he’s playing downhill. 

  • Explosiveness

His burst after his first step is extremely good and he shoots through gaps extremely quickly. 

  • COD/Lower Half Flexibility

In space he’s not terrible and especially for a bigger linebacker his change of direction ability and flexibility is definitely above average.

  • Solid Tackler

He’s a good wrap up tackler for the most part and while his form isn’t perfect yet it will improve in the future. 

  • Good and Physical in Man Coverage

In man coverage he’s extremely physical and has the requirements to be able to guard tight ends and running backs decently well.

  • Takes Safe Angles

He takes safe angles all the time and teams don’t have to worry about him giving up a big play because he’s trying too hard to make the game changing play.

  • Good Blitzer

Dylan Moses is also a very good blitzer and he routinely times the snap extremely well, hits open holes fast, and when he gets a head of steam going down the field his speed to power conversion is good.

Weaknesses: 

  • Slow Processing/Overcommitting

He reads the field pretty slowly compared to the rest of the players on the field and this processing issue which isn’t something that’s fixed quickly, especially for someone who isn’t exactly new to the position like Moses. For every couple of instinctual plays there’s a couple of plays where he’s completely taken out of the picture especially because he tends to overcommit.

  • Low Play Strength

He can still add weight to his frame but he’s still somewhat of a bigger linebacker and to see him get pushed around like he did was very surprising. Tight ends were able to completely pancake him and even wide receivers at times were knocking him off of his spots which is never good to see. With his processing being not great this issue is only magnified because he frequently has to engage on blocks.

  • Limited Coverage Snaps

In pass coverage he’s going to be a liability off the bat because he really doesn’t have that many snaps in either man or zone coverage and he didn’t show too much in either coverage. At times he’s gotten extremely grabby in man and did not cover passing holes behind him in zone.

  • Miscommunications

In pass coverage Alabama had a few miscommunications this year and Moses was involved in a lot of them. 

  • Low Effort Player

Perhaps the worst trait that I’ve seen from Moses is his tendency to be a low effort player. There’s plays where he could’ve made a play if he had stayed in the play but too often he’s walking or jogging before the play is over. This could be a conditioning issue or just an effort issue with the latter being worse. Amateurs like me do not have as much information about a player’s personal life like real scouts do, which is extremely important, I have to go just off film. And there are other players who don’t care about the game who do show effort on the field so the fact that he doesn’t scares me a lot.

Player Comp: Dylan Moses reminds of Kiko Alonso with less effort and block shedding. They’re both good athletes who have position versatility to play all LB spots, they also both have a tendency to overcommit, get pushed around by blockers, and read plays a bit slow. Moses may have more speed but one reason why Alonso is so good is his constant motor which Moses doesn’t have and Alonso’s ability to get off blocks in decent time. It’s tough to find a good comp for Moses because there’s not a lot of players with his athletic profile that have this many holes in there game but Alonso was the closest fit.

Final Thoughts: I’m around the consensus on Dylan Moses but I do believe that he has athletic traits that if he’s able to sit and learn for a year that he will be a very high upside player. I believe that he should go around the early 4th round and a rebuilding team would love to have Moses and it’s also good that Moses is versatile enough to pretty much play any position save for maybe MIKE Linebacker for 4-3 teams. The best team fit for Moses is probably the Patriots where potentially Belichick could turn him into a high effort player who hits his massive ceiling. If he goes to a team that doesn’t have a good established culture built like the Jaguars or Bengals my career outlook on him is very dim and for those teams I’d drop him on the board a lot.