Film Study – Tight End Thaddeus Moss
May 5, 2020
by Steve Thomas
Former LSU tight end Thaddeus Moss is an interesting rookie prospect with obvious NFL hall of fame bloodlines and a national championship pedigree. For those reasons, he’s captured the imaginations of Redskins fans, with most being surprised that Moss went undrafted. Washington, of course, has a big need at tight end – Logan Thomas has the biggest contract and therefore the inside track to the starting job, but none of the players currently on the roster are proven vets. It was therefore a bit of a surprise that the team chose to not draft someone, but that surprise was quickly mollified with the news coming just moments after the end of the draft that Moss had been signed as a priority free agent. What do the Redskins have in this player? What skills does he have? Is he a younger version of his father Randy Moss, or is Thaddeus a different type of player? Let’s find out together.
Background
Moss was a four star recruit out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and was originally recruited to North Carolina St. He spent his 2016 freshman year with the Wolfpack, playing in 5 games and making 6 receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. He then transferred to LSU, sitting out the 2017 season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules. Moss subsequently injured his foot and as a result also missed all of 2018 as a medical redshirt. He finally played a full season in 2019, with 47 receptions for 570 yards, for 12.1 yards per catch, and 4 touchdowns, in 12 games. Moss then decided to forego his remaining eligibility to enter the NFL draft; however, his medical examination at the NFL Combine revealed a fracture to his fifth metatarsal bone (I’m no doctor, but that is one of the five larger “second” bones of the toes) which required surgery and six to eight weeks’ recovery. He was therefore not able to participate in any drills at the Combine, but his injury timeline suggests that Moss should be ready for training camp. Moss was measured at 6’2” and 250 pounds.
Film Analysis
Games studied: LSU vs Auburn, Alabama, & Clemson
As I always say in these film studies, I am not a professional scout. I’m just a fairly well-versed, well-intentioned amateur, so be forewarned. Take my observations for what you will. #notascout.
The basics of Moss’s role in the passing game
You should dissuade yourself of the notion that Moss is a younger clone of his father. He isn’t. For the most part, Moss is a traditional NFL inline tight end, although LSU used him quite a bit in more of an H-back position slightly off the line and into the backfield, and occasionally split out wide and in the slot. To start with, I’d like to show you a few plays which are a good representative sample of the role Moss played in LSU’s passing game. Moss is #81 and wore white sleeves that extended down to his elbow in all three games and in all of these clips:
In the first play, Moss is lined up on the right side next to but behind the right tackle, essentially in an “H” back position. He runs a simple, short 2 yard outside slant route and added another 3 yards after the catch. In the second play, Moss is on the far outside on the right. He runs another short slant route, this time to the inside, and gets good YAC for a 9 yard gain. In the third play, against Auburn, Moss is in the slot on the right side and runs a 5 yard button hook with an additional 8 yards of YAC. The third play is from the national title game against Clemson. Moss is on the right side, again in what appears to be the H-back position. He runs another short 5 yard button hook but is tackled immediately. The fourth play is also against Clemson, only this time Moss is in the inline tight end position on the right end. LSU is on the 6 yard line, and Moss runs a simple, short vertical route into the end zone. Clemson’s defense basically ignores him and he gets an easy touchdown. Finally, the last play is from the Alabama game, with Moss again on the right side. Moss runs a shallow crossing route, and the quarterback, Joe Burrow, comes back to Moss after his primary read is covered.
What you should take from these plays is that Moss was not a focal point of LSU’s passing game. He played a traditional, old-school role as either the outlet valve for the quarterback or to get short yardage in traffic. Moss essentially never runs complex routes downfield in the mold of former Redskin Jordan Reed, or top tight ends like Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski. He is not a “Joker” tight end. He is an inline tight end. Moss didn’t exhibit even a fraction of his father’s speed and acceleration on his game film, and LSU did not use him in that role – his only downfield routes were mostly clearing routes or simple 9 routes where he was only a backside read. Also, defenses didn’t view him as a big threat as compared to other LSU ballhandlers and as a result sometimes ignored him and didn’t cover him properly, such as in the film clip above.
Moss appears to have average speed for a tight end. He’s bulky and strong, but not agile. For the Redskins, I expect Moss’s contributions in the passing game to be largely similar to what he did at LSU, because his apparent physical limitations will not allow him to outrun, jump, or evade NFL linebackers. I think Moss’s game will be mostly short yardage slants and crossing routes – think in traffic, red zone, third downs.
Moss has great hands
Most of the plays in this series speak for themselves, so I’m not going to break down each play on an individual basis. Just watch:
Thad Moss has fabulous hands. I couldn’t find a single example of Moss not coming down with a pass that he should have had. While Thad didn’t inherit his father’s speed, he definitely has his hands. Also, notice his body control in the first play against Alabama. In that play, Moss actually realized that one foot was out of bounds and readjusted his feet prior to catching the ball in order to get an NFL-approved two toes in bounds as he came down with the ball. The call was ruled a catch after video review. It was a tremendous effort. The fourth play against Auburn wasn’t a particularly noteworthy catch; I included it to show you what Moss does on a regular basis: catch what’s thrown to him, with a minimum of problems. As you saw, he makes contested sideline catches with ease. I view Moss’s hands as being on a par with those of the departed Jordan Reed, which is a high bar.
Moss was highly valuable to LSU’s run game
Moss was a key contributor to the success of LSU’s rushing attack, which was one of the top, or maybe the single best, in the country. The Redskins have lacked a tough, violent blocker at the tight end position for years, but now they have one. Observe these plays:
In the first two plays, Moss is in the H-back position on the right side and in both cases is able to physically attack and control his opponent. In the second play in particular, Moss seals off the defender to the outside, creating a gap for the running back that allowed him to go for a big gain. The third and four plays shows Moss running into the second level downfield to create space for his running back. The fifth play is similar to the first two, with Moss lined up as the H-back on the right side and winning his one on one battle with the defender. The sixth and seventh plays, against Auburn, happened back to back on the goal line. Neither went for a touchdown, but I included them here because it showed Moss starting from an inline tight end spot in a 3 point stance and effectively neutralizing his opponent. The next play, also against Auburn, Moss turns his opponent inside and violently puts him on the ground. The final two plays are both against Clemson, In the first one, Moss essentially plays lead blocker for Joe Burrow, putting a hit on the Clemson defender in the end zone (it’s hard to see; Moss is in the slot on the left side) that allows Burrow to score an uncontested touchdown. In the final play, Moss tries a cut block which wasn’t the greatest effort, but was successful in impact and allowed the running back to break for a big gain. I included it because Moss cut blocks on a fairly regular basis, so it’s something that I expect to continue in the NFL.
As you can see, Moss is a very good blocker and was a big key to LSU’s success. He is strong and bulky enough to engage and move defenders, and is aggressive enough to not allow himself to be taken advantage of. Considering the type of blocking effort the Redskins have gotten out of their tight ends in recent years, Moss will represent a significant improvement. In my view, this is the best part of his game.
The Negatives
No player is perfect, and Moss is no exception. Watch these clips:
First, Moss doesn’t have speed and isn’t going to outrun anyone in the NFL. He wasn’t able to run a 40 yard dash at the Combine, and while his time was rumored to be in the 4.7 range, I didn’t see that translate in his game film. I think he’s slower than 4.7. The first play is a simple vertical route against man coverage; notice the defensive back easily keeps up and is able to break up the catch.
Second, Moss is a lazy route runner and frequently does not play with a sense of urgency. In the second and third play, Moss is on the right side in the H-back position, and in the fourth play, he is again on the right side, but in the slot. Moss gives the impression that if he realizes he is not the primary receiver, he’s willing to loaf and does not give a full effort on his route. His lack of effort can be very obvious, to the point that it actually tips off defenders. This part of Moss’s game needs improvement and should be one thing that the Redskins’ coaching staff will focus on.
Analysis and conclusions
Moss’s best skills are (1) his willingness and ability to be a blocker in the run game, and (2) his quality hands. He isn’t a dynamic athlete and doesn’t have speed and ability to accelerate that’s anywhere near that of his father. His game at LSU was very much in the mold of a traditional, old-school tight end and not similar to modern tight ends like Gronkowski, Kelce, and Reed. His principal fault is a demonstrated lack of effort when he knows that he isn’t the primary receiver. He loafs on pass routes entirely too much, to the point that it affects the defensive coverage decisions. Overall, Moss is a quality tight end who has an opportunity in Washington to earn a long-term role with the team.