Trey Moore, EDGE, Texas
Trey Moore is an undersized 6 ‘2 250-pound EDGE / Linebacker from the University of Texas, who enrolled at UTSA in August of 2021 after a great showing at Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas. He was undervalued from the start, as he was a zero-star recruit out of high school and had only offers from the Ivy League (FCS), Army, North Texas, Hawaii, UTSA, Abilene Christian, and other small schools. He showed the schools that did not offer him how wrong they were early at UTSA, setting the sack record at UTSA, becoming a freshman American All-American, and being the American Athletic Defensive Player of the Year. He would then transfer to Texas, where he had good success, but not at the level he had at UTSA. He is not known to have sustained many injuries overall, as he only missed one half of a game this past year with a lower-body injury against Texas A&M.
Athletically, Moore is one of the best prospects there is off the snap, as he is explosive off the line. His finesse and power moves, especially counter and bull, are among his best traits, especially counter, as he has been able to roam free to the quarterback when this is used, even against elite competition like Ohio State and Georgia. His bull has been just as elite, too, as his hand placement combined with his explosiveness has enabled him to run through offensive linemen into the quarterback, causing the quarterback to throw the ball earlier than expected or, even worse, be intercepted. Mentally, Moore lacks execution, not recognition, in quarterback option plays, as he bites towards the running back, leaving wide-open spaces for a mobile quarterback. Although that is negative, he has a strong recognition of screen plays, RPO plays, misdirection, and of distinguishing run formations from pass formations. All this being considered, the most important attribute is that his competitive toughness is elite because he does not give up on a play until it is blown dead, a good sign for his work ethic to NFL teams.
Moore’s hand placement is good when he must bull through the offensive lineman, and there have been no negative distinctions of the placement, as he has not cost his team with penalties. You could say there was a misplacement of his hands because Trey was hauled in on running plays, but that is mainly due to his undersized frame. Texas did not use him much as a linebacker, but with his hand usage and tools, he will be an exceptional linebacker at the next level or a situational one at times. In the run game, Moore is often a non-factor, but has made good plays with the spin counter move, as shown against Ohio State this year. He needs to add more muscle and weight if he wants to be a factor in the running game, especially as an edge rusher, as huge gaps can open at the next level. In this passing game, though, he is an elite defender in coverage, as he ran with every running back and tight end step for step, but when tasked with being in a zone assignment, the quarterback was able to throw over him to the receiver.
Scheme and Team Fit:
Moore’s scheme fit should be as a 3-4 outside linebacker because of his versatility on defense, not knowing what his task will be, and his experience at the edge position, which will benefit him while allowing him to cover if needed. NFL teams that would fit that description are the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders, because of their new defensive coordinators’ 3-4 scheme and their teams’ need for versatile edge rushers who can become linebackers in coverage and possess great to elite speed. The other team I noted was the Los Angeles Rams because of their history of developing talent on the defensive side of the ball, including Nate Landman, Kobie Turner, and Byron Young.
NFL Player Comp: Haason Reddick
Much like Haason Reddick, Trey Moore is viewed as an undersized edge rusher who could develop into a versatile edge rusher who can drop into coverage like a linebacker would do or just convert him into a linebacker completely. They both have great acceleration, get off speed, and rely on those attributes more than power and execution
Projection: Bench Depth / Average Starter
Moore is undervalued by NFL scouts because of his inability to stop the run at the edge position, but scouts realize how efficient he can be as a linebacker in a running formation. Given that, Moore’s ceiling is untapped as a linebacker because of most of the snaps being at the edge position. If the league gives him that chance at linebacker, an average to good starter.
Grade and Round Projection: 4.7, Day 3 pick.
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