The Michigan Wolverines have a track record when it comes to producing NFL edge rushers. With his 2025 NFL Draft scouting report, could one-time highly touted recruit Derrick Moore be the next name to keep an eye on?
Let’s take a closer look.
Derrick Moore’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 258 pounds
- Position: Edge Rusher
- School: Michigan
- Current Year: Junior
It’s simply impossible to look away from the Michigan Wolverines’ program as a whole when it comes to NFL talent development. In the 2024 NFL Draft alone, the Wolverines had 13 players drafted, and six of them were selected within the first three rounds.
In the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Michigan’s draft crop should once again be strong, even in the midst of Jim Harbaugh’s departure to the Los Angeles Chargers. On offense, Colston Loveland can be a game-breaker, and on defense, Will Johnson, Mason Graham, and Kenneth Grant anchor a star-studded unit.
One position where questions remain, however, is EDGE. Ever since the days of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the Wolverines haven’t quite been able to restore the glory of their pass rush. If they aim to do so in 2025, Moore will be a big part of that.
Moore was a high-school stalwart himself — a four-star recruit from Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore who won the state’s Gatorade Football Player of the Year Award in 2021 after logging 12 sacks and 24 total tackles for loss.
Moore joined up with the Wolverines and logged rotational reps as a true freshman. And in 2023 — in a rotation that included Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, and Josaiah Stewart — he logged five sacks, six total TFLs, two pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
The talent is there with Moore, but can the production and eventual NFL ascension come later? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Moore’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Sports a strong, well-built frame with great mass and elite proportional length.
- Has good explosion and energy in his movement and can off-set OTs working vertically.
- Boasts excellent twitch and foot speed for his size, which he can use to snap into phase.
- Explosive capacity, mass, and proportional length amount to stellar raw power capacity.
- Able to leverage his base in run defense and stack-and-shed while one-gapping.
- Strong run defender who can anchor, slab pulling blockers, and limit edge displacement.
- Can use his lateral burst and length in tandem to pry inside of gaps and block lanes.
- Has enough ankle flexion and hip flexibility to pinch tight angles while cornering.
- Has shown he can bait tackles inside, then euro-step outside and levy strong rips.
- Can use his length to occlude passing lanes and deflect throws near the line.
- Runs with a reliable motor and routinely fights through contact and enters pursuit.
- Has good pursuit speed on the chase and can wrangle runners with his length.
- Has shown he can play from two-point, three-point, or four-point stances.
Weaknesses
- Frame is noticeably high-hipped, which can impact bend capacity around the apex.
- Doesn’t have elite long-track explosiveness to the apex, nullifying angle advantages.
- Despite length and mass, is very inconsistent unlocking his full power element.
- Inconsistent leg churn can cause power rushes to stall out past initial contact.
- High-hipped frame can cause him to divert upright quickly off the snap, losing load.
- Doesn’t quite have the hip flexibility to roll around blocks after push-pull moves.
- Sub-optimal base load and punch strength can make him susceptible to snatch-and-traps.
- Overall, suffers from a relatively sparse counter arsenal past power moves and rips.
- At times, can better align his base and torso to fully channel power as a pass rusher.
- Sometimes misaligns his hips after attempting to off-set blockers with lateral agility.
- Tendency to give up leverage when rushing up gaps can allow blockers to finish reps.
- Tall pad level can give run blockers a window to torque him out of gaps and clear space.
- Can be late to decipher option reps and track the ball, losing pursuit angles.
- Despite junior status, will turn 23 years old late in his rookie season if he declares.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Moore grades out as a mid-to-late Day 3 prospect. He has the upside to rise up the board, and a larger snap share in 2024 will give him the opportunity to do so. But he also has a lot to work on at this stage of his career.
The prime appeal with Moore is his high-level physical profile. At 6’3″, 258 pounds, with arms over 34″ long, he has an exceptional combination of mass and proportional length, and he’s also an explosive athlete with great short-area twitch, agility, and energy in his motion.
Moore’s frame also grants him great natural strength and power capacity — the former of which shows up most often in run defense. There, he’s able to align his base, set the edge, stack-and-shed, and pry through gaps, and his run-defense ability raises his floor.
Having said all this, the pass-rushing profile is still relatively raw for Moore. His pad level, base alignment, and leverage management through reps all stand to improve, and his hand-usage arsenal — both with initial moves and counters — is power-dominant. And even then, his power application is flawed.
As mentioned above, Moore has the raw physical tools — among them size, length, explosiveness, agility, and strength — to potentially crack the Top 100 picks at his maximum. As of now, however, he grades as a mid to late-round pick, and a depth EDGE at the NFL level.