The edge class in the 2026 NFL Draft looks to be a deep and talented one. It’s coming on the heels of a fantastic 2025 class, and while this year’s class might not have quite the same top end potential as last year’s class, it is remarkably deep.
This year’s class is so deep that a player who exploded for a 10.0 sack, 10.5 tackle for loss, season has gotten little buzz. Michigan’s Derrick Moore emerged as a disruptive player this past season, but still only got passing mention while the edge duos
from Miami and Texas Tech got all the attention.
Conventional wisdom would say that edge is one position where the New York Giants are set. However, it’s also true that the Giants won each of their last two Super Bowls with four-man rotations of starting calibler pass rushers. Could they look to Moore to round out their rotation?
Prospect: Derrick Moore (8)
Games Watched: vs. Oklahoma (2025), vs. USC (2025), vs. Washington (2025)
Red Flags: none
Measurables
Height: 6-foot 3 1/2 inches
Weight: 254 pounds
Arm length: 34 1/4 inches
Hand size: 9 1/4 inches
Strengths
Best traits
- Size and length
- Play strength
- Football IQ
- Competitive toughness
- Versatility
Moore is a good-sized edge prospect with long arms and impressive play strength. Moore is an experienced defender, appearing in 53 games at Michigan and has been well-coached for much of his time as a Wolverine.
He is a disciplined and patient rusher who is quick off the snap, but seldom over-runs the play or bites hard on play-fakes. He’s disciplined when taking on mobile quarterbacks, and doesn’t give them easy scrambling lanes. Likewise he commits well when his job is to force the ball in a certain direction on read-option plays, but is also patient when he’s reading a mesh point. He’s also very quick to recognize screens and redirect to pursue when the ball comes.
As a rusher, he’s a power merchant off the edge, pure and simple, with little finesse or subtlety in his game.
He excels at gaining leverage on blockers, positioning his hands to win inside leverage, and coiling his hips to upend tackles with his bull-rush. Moore doesn’t have an explosive first step, however he does have explosive power once engaged. His rushes typically see him walking blockers into the backfield, constricting the pocket before he discards them to pressure the quarterback. He typically pairs his bull rush with a long-arm, taking advantage of his power, leverage, and length. Moore also does flash a rip move to exploit tackles that over-set in reaction to his power, though he doesn’t use it often.
Moore’s strength and leverage also allows him to set a firm edge in the run game and is able to make plays off of blockers or force the ball back inside to his teammates. He’s a reliable tackler and offers very good effort in pursuit.
Finally, Moore has the versatility to play from a 2 or 3-point stance, off the left and right edges, and is also able to drop into shallow coverage zones. He shouldn’t be asked to do so often, however he should be able to muddy reads and help the defense execute zone blitzes
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Lower body fluidity
- Explosiveness
While Moore has the athleticism to be a regular player on the edge and a real threat as a pass rusher, he doesn’t have the elite lower-body fluidity and flexibility that is the hallmark of the best pass rushers.
Moore typically wins by going over or through blockers, as opposed to bending the edge and getting low around them. In addition, he lacks a truly explosive first step to stress blockers with speed off the snap. That could make life tougher for him at the NFL level, where offensive tackles are both more athletic and more powerful than they are on average in college.
Moore’s pass rush arsenal is also somewhat limited, echoing his athletic traits. He relies almost exclusively on power moves to bully offensive tackles, usually using a bull rush to set up a long-arm move. He does flash a rip move that can be effective, however he’s very much a one-speed rusher and that can make him relatively predictable for offensive tackles.
Game Tape
(Derrick Moore is the Michigan edge defender wearing number 8 and white tape on the back of his arms)
Projection
Moore projects as a rotational edge defender with scheme diversity at the NFL level.
Moore is the type of player that a defensive coordinator should feel good about having on the field in just about any circumstance. He can impact the run and pass, and is disciplined enough to avoid hurting your team. Moore also understands who he is and has tailored his game to fit. He doesn’t throw a huge variety of moves at blockers only to have few of them work. Instead he’s a tight, focused rusher and a reliable run defender.
However, he is also somewhat limited as an athlete – at least compared to the elite at the position. That could prevent him from ever becoming a truly feared pass rusher, which might be enough to keep him from being a starter. That said, he should still be a very valuable player as a third edge who plays a high volume of snaps to both spell and play alongside starters.
Does he fit the Giants? Yes, value permitting
Final Word: A second-round pick
