2017 NFL Draft Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Fabian Moreau

The Kansas City Chiefs may look to add some help to their secondary in the upcoming draft. Fabian Moreau of UCLA could be a steal.

There were some up and down moments for the Kansas City Chiefs secondary in 2016. The Chiefs have a young, but talented, group at cornerback. However, in today’s NFL, you can almost never have too much talent at corner. If the Chiefs are looking to add some talent in that area, Fabian Moreau of UCLA could be a quality prospect.

The Chiefs are obviously set at one cornerback position with Marcus Peters emerging as a top talent. However, the other side of the field is less certain. Terrance Mitchell stepped up for the Chiefs late in the season, but is only under contract for one more year. Phillip Gaines has shown that he is not up to the challenge of starting. That creates a concern for the Chiefs.

With so many teams utilizing the passing game more and more, it’s important for KC to be able to counter with a talented secondary. Even if the Chiefs keep Terrance Mitchell long-term, you need more than just talented starters. It’s not unfair to say that a team needs as many as four corners who can play 75% of the defensive snaps.

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The Chiefs spend a lot of time in Nickel and Dime formations on defense. That means there is a lot of exposure for depth defenders in the secondary. So investing heavily in the cornerback position just makes a lot of sense, and should be a new norm in the NFL.

Fabian Moreau – CB – UCLA

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Right now, I wouldn’t hesitate to call Fabian Moreau the “under the radar” cornerback in this draft. It’s a talented group of players at corner this year, so it’s not difficult to miss somebody. Moreau might be a first round talent who could end up being drafted late in the second. That’s quite a steal if it plays out that way.

Fabian Moreau is a tremendous athlete, finishing Top 5 in four of the six Combine events. Moreau has the agility to handle short area assignments, and the long speed to stay with receivers deep. He’s big and strong, handling press coverage well. Moreau looks confident against the run and holds his ground. He has quick recognition skills to dissect routes early.

It’s tough to gauge the negatives on Fabian Moreau because a lot of what I see seems to be just recovering from a 2015 Lisfranc injury. He could play a bit more aggressive against receivers instead of allowing them space. Has a good eye for the ball, but doesn’t come down with enough interceptions for the number of pass break-ups he has.

Fabian Moreau could very well end up being the best corner from this draft class. He’s not the ball hawking player that stands out on highlight reels, but plays some of the best defense out there. Moreau would probably be a mid first round pick, at least, in most other draft classes. I think he’ll look even better with a year between him and his Lisfranc injury.

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If the Kansas City Chiefs are looking for a cornerback, I really do like the idea of drafting Fabian Moreau. That is especially true if they can manage to get him in the second round. That is not out of the realm of possibility with such a strong cornerback class. When people talk about how good a draft class this is, it’s because of players like Moreau.