Oakland Raiders should keep an eye on Rahim Moore

The Oakland Raiders have been unlucky at the strong safety position in each of the past two seasons, as stalwart Tyvon Branch has suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries very early on, causing him to appear in just five games in 2013 and 2014. Although Charles Woodson‘s play at free safety has been above average, the Raiders have failed to get enough out of their secondary thanks to Branch’s injuries. With Woodson getting even older at 38, I think it makes sense for the Raiders to look at safeties on the free agent market this offseason, since adding a true coverage safety would be a huge boost to their entire defense. Young corners like T.J. Carrie and D.J. Hayden have promise, and adding a good free safety would aid their development.

There aren’t many worthy strong safeties set to hit the open market this offseason, but there are a few notable free safeties on expiring contracts. While I don’t think he will hit the free agent market, Denver Broncos FS Rahim Moore is one of the most intriguing options, and it goes beyond the fact that he is a quality starter for a division rival. Moore has all the traits the Raiders should be looking for a new free safety, because he is generally solid in coverage and has some playmaking ability (four picks this season).

I know Woodson has played reasonably well for the Raiders over the past couple of seasons, so it seems a bit weird for me to tab free safety as a need for this team. But with Branch under contract until 2018, the strong safety position is locked up, because there’s just no way the Raiders release Branch. Not only would they have to eat up too much money if they released him, but they would also lose an ideal SS who displays good awareness, strong run support, big-hitting ability, leadership, and the ability to go man-to-man against top tight ends (I’ll always remember his vintage performances against Rob Gronkowski a few seasons ago).

There’s a chance Branch won’t get back on track in the future due to injuries, and that’s part of the reason why it’s important to add another competent safety in the mix. Woodson stated that he would like to play another season, and I would be surprised if the Raiders don’t bring one of their better defensive players and leaders back. Sometimes people praise him a little bit too much, but he has proven to be a useful safety. That said, I think it’s better for the Raiders to bring him back as a third safety, since they could get a better coverage safety at FS and also can’t count on him producing at the same level in 2015; it’s hard to trust a 38-year-old (he’ll be 39 in October of next year) at free safety.

Even though Woodson has four interceptions and eight passes defended this season, he’s also recorded 111 tackles and would probably comfortably fit in at strong safety if Branch were to go down with another injury. As we saw during his heyday with the Green Bay Packers, Woodson is a capable run defender who can also blitz, so the Raiders could use a left safety-right safety set-up instead of a strict FS-SS partnership if they end up starting Woodson next to a guy like Moore.

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It’s hard to pinpoint what type of a role Woodson should have on the Raiders defense, but I think he’s ideally a third safety on this defense. Per Pro Football Focus, he missed 20 tackles, allowed 15.1 yards per completion, and allowed more than 70% of the passes in his coverage to be completed. Those numbers exaggerate his struggles in coverage, but they do show that he isn’t reliable enough to be an ideal starting free safety, and that’s understandable given his age. Adding someone like Moore would relieve some pressure off of both Woodson and the cornerbacks, and a look at his numbers show that he would be a substantial upgrade at the back end of the Oakland Raiders secondary.

Although Moore was significantly better in 2013, he still played well this season with four picks and some safe coverage, allowing just 10.8 yards per completion. The high QB Rating and catch rate allowed stats are misleading, because Moore was targeted just 22 times this past regular season. He clearly benefited from the excellent work done by Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib in front of him, but he’s still played a huge role on a defense that is second-best in the league against deep passes, per Football Outsiders.

If the Raiders decide to make an upgrade at the safety position, they don’t need to go out and splurge on someone like Antrel Rolle, since they don’t need to go after a premium playmaking safety. All they need is someone who can shore up their coverage, and I think Rahim Moore would make sense for this team. Again, I don’t see him hitting the free agent market, but he is a solid/unspectacular safety who can safely start and form a really nice trio with Branch at SS and Woodson as a valuable third safety. Moore is someone that the Raiders should monitor, especially since he is right in the division. He’s about a mid-level free-agent safety, but with other needs on the roster, it makes sense to go for the solid and unflashy guy at this position.

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