FS/SS grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, Wonderlic test results leaked, etc. We will update info as it becomes available.
Our Quick Hit (QH) scouting reports are a modified/shorter version of our full-scale reports. On these Quick Hits, I look at a lesser amount of tape and write a shorter amount of flowy words – these are usually designed more for sleeper prospects that I want to get more acquainted with and if something really jumps out, I’ll go deeper. It’s just me trying to get in and get out and deliver the pertinent notes to you for your consideration and for review later if they start to make waves in a year or two.
I’ll do a chunk of these pre-Draft and then more after the Draft, going through the players that caught my attention in the draft (because of how high they were taken) or that I stumble across in training camp or the preseason that catch my eye.
Most of my notes on these Quick Hits will be short and sweet bullet points versions of our full-scale reports. Enjoy…
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As I was cruising around looking at work of various prospects who were snubbed by the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, but were getting some attention for the NFL Draft, I came across the highlight reel of Jovante Moffatt and I instantly was attracted to what I was seeing…and I’ve been watching a lot of off-the-grid prospects the few weeks and not being ‘moved’ by many of them, so Moffatt was a refreshing change…or maybe I was just so worn down that Moffatt seemed pretty interesting in my desperation. So, I wanted to take a deeper look ASAP.
Let’s find out which it is -- hope or head-fake?
BACKGROUND…
-- Basically, a four-year starter. 5th-year senior 2019. Had tears in his shoulder that he was recovering from but he tried to rush back in 2018, so he decided to play 4 games in 2018 and then redshirt so he could use another year to get fully healthy and play a full/healthy 2019 senior season.
-- Led Conference USA in solo tackles (71) in 2019…10th most in the NCAA. More like top 5 in the nation if you consider solo tackles on a per game basis.
-- Team Captain. Play calling ‘coach on the field’. High football IQ. High character prospect.
GAME TAPE AND RANDOM NOTES…
-- Maybe as good a tackler at safety as there is in the draft. Makes clean, and hard, tackles.
-- Classic safety who is not afraid to come up into the fray and make a tackle on any size RB. I saw him bring down some really big/thick RBs and TEs on solo tackles to the midsection (not ankle-trip tackles or full speed up high shoulder blasts on guys with their backs turned). Moffatt will come up/in on any sized player face-to-face and bring them down – I don’t see that as much with Delpit-Chinn type (highly rated) safeties prospects.
-- In the open field, against any sized player, you can count on Moffatt to make the tackle to save a TD…that’s worth its weight in gold in the NFL.
-- Built like a power RB…5’11”/213, and all muscle with some nice bulk in his upper body/arms.
-- Not sure if he is a 4.5s or 4.6s 40-time runner…and that would be the difference of a 5th-round steal draft pick and a possible UDFA prospect. Moffatt looks solid dropping into coverage and chasing receivers or deep passes. I’d estimate he’s right around 4.60…but his nice instincts give him an extra edge to seem faster/plays faster.
-- This is the kind of guy a team gets and is a screaming bargain for the cost…NFL starting safety skills at low draft/payroll cost but can be a special teams ace until he becomes a defensive starter.
Jovante Moffatt, Through the Lens of Our SAF Scouting Algorithm:
-- Five interceptions in his last 17 games played in college…he has good hands/instincts.
-- 2018 season, his four games before redshirting…5 PDs in 4 games. He seemed to play more coverage to protect his shoulder and he shined in coverage early on.
-- 2019 and 2017 he was a safety/sometimes linebacker…101 tackles (2017) and 98 tackles (2019) as a result. High ratio of solo vs. cheap assisted tackles, which lets you know he’s a good/quality tackler…not a cheap shot artist or guy diving at people’s feet. He tackles with his arms and body, not diving shoulder darts at ankles or shoulders. He doesn’t grab ballcarriers up high and try to lasso them down – he hits and people go down quickly.
The Historical SAF Prospects to Whom Jovante Moffatt Most Compares Within Our System:
Moffatt comps with many unheralded safety prospects, but were guys who were great tacklers in college and a few of them broke through in the pros. I see some Jonathan Cyprien potential here…a guy who played/forced his way to a starting, productive NFL role for years.
|
Overall |
Last |
First |
Yr |
College |
HT |
HT |
Weight |
Tackle Strngth Metrics |
Speed Cover Metric |
Strong Safety |
Free Safety |
|
7.230 |
Moffatt |
Jovante |
2020 |
Mid Tenn St |
5 |
11.2 |
213 |
9.54 |
3.01 |
78% |
22% |
|
8.327 |
Ward |
T.J. |
2010 |
Oregon |
5 |
10.4 |
211 |
8.22 |
4.33 |
67% |
33% |
|
8.379 |
Daniels |
Matt |
2012 |
Duke |
5 |
11.6 |
212 |
9.25 |
6.31 |
62% |
38% |
|
7.827 |
Cash |
Jeremy |
2016 |
Duke |
6 |
0.3 |
212 |
8.00 |
4.28 |
69% |
31% |
|
7.479 |
Sandersfeld |
Travis |
2012 |
Colorado |
6 |
0.5 |
209 |
8.69 |
3.18 |
72% |
28% |
|
7.128 |
Wingard |
Andrew |
2019 |
Wyoming |
6 |
0.1 |
209 |
7.92 |
3.39 |
72% |
28% |
|
5.933 |
Cyprien |
Jonathan |
2013 |
Fla Atlantic |
6 |
0.2 |
217 |
6.92 |
2.12 |
79% |
21% |
*The ratings are based on a 1–10 rating scale, but a prospect can score over 10.0+ and less than 0.0.
OVERALL RATING -- We merge the data from physical measurables, skill times/counts from the NFL Combine/Pro Days, with college performance data available on pass coverage/tackles, etc. and grade it compared to our database history of all college SS/FS prospects, with a focus on which SS/FS prospects went on to be good-great-elite in the NFL. We found characteristics/data points that the successful NFL SS/FS's had in common in college, that most other SS/FS prospects could not match/achieve.
Scoring with a rating over a 7.0+ in our system is where we start to take a SS/FS prospect more seriously. Most of the future NFL-successful college SS/FS prospects scored 8.0+ in our system, and most of the NFL-superior FS/SSs pushed ratings more in the 9–10.0+ levels overall. Future NFL busts will sneak into the 8.0+ rating range from time to time.
TACKLE/STRENGTH METRIC -- A combination of physical measurables and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify the SS/FS as one more likely to be involved in a heavy amount of tackles, forced fumbles, and physical hits to separate a WR from the ball. It also gives some insight into the "toughness" of a player, if it is possible to quantify that (this is our attempt to).
SPEED/COVERAGE METRIC -- A combination of several speed, agility, size measurements as well as college performance. A unique measuring system to look for SS/FS prospects that profile for superior coverage skills and abilities.
2020 NFL Draft Outlook:
If you see Moffatt even listed anywhere, he’s usually a “UDFA’ projection. I think he could sneak himself into the 7th-round but going undrafted would not shock me.
If I were an NFL GM, this is the type of guy you jump on 7th-round…why GMs should load up on 7th-round picks, so they control the player vs. hitting the phones begging them to sign as undrafted free agents after the draft. There is a legit useful+ NFL prospect here.
NFL Outlook:
You probably won’t hear of Moffatt for a while in the NFL. I bet he makes a 53-man roster as a reserve and special teamer as a rookie, then in 1-3 years he suddenly an unknown starter and then suddenly he’s productive/reliable/beloved. I hope that’s his journey.
4/9/2020
