While Raider Nation has seen the success of Tre’von Moehrig and Nate Hobbs over the course of the season on the gridiron, the defensive rookies are grabbing attention on the national stage as well.
The rookie secondary duo was named to Pro Football Focus' All-Rookie Team this week. They are two of just eight players on the list who were not first-round draft picks.
As the Raiders' second-round draft pick, Moehrig has quietly been finding success while learning from the veterans surrounding him. In his first year in the Silver and Black, he totaled 55 tackles, six passes defensed and one interception. Take a look at PFF's analysis of the rookie below:
"Moehrig was the closest thing to a pure single-high safety the NFL had this season in Las Vegas. The Raiders' 59% Cover 3 rate was 17 percentage points higher than any other defense in the league, and their 82% of snaps with a single-high safety post-snap were also most in the NFL by over 10 percentage points. Moehrig impressed in that role."
Hobbs, the fifth-round pick out of Illinois, quickly made his mark in the defense – earning a spot as a starter and ending the year as PFF's highest-graded rookie corner. He accumulated 74 tackles, four QB hits, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception on the season. Here's what PFF had to say about the cornerback:
"Hobbs doesn't have gaudy interception or pass breakup numbers because much of his job in the slot was coming up and limiting damage on plays in front of him. He did that well, allowing just 0.7 yards per coverage snap, seventh among cornerbacks with at least 250 snaps. Hobbs paired that play in coverage with a 78.8 PFF run-defense grade in 2021 that ranked 11th at the position."
Now, Moehrig and Hobbs – along with the rest of their 2021 Silver and Black draft class – will look to continue their successful rookie campaigns as they embark on their first NFL playoff game Saturday.
