What can New York Giants pass-rusher Avery Moss bring to the table during the 2019 season? Hopefully, more than practice squad reps.
Most of you probably don’t remember Avery Moss and the influence he’s had on the Giants…that’s right, he hasn’t had an influence. Moss spent all of 2018 on the practice squad on an average defense and barely played in his rookie season two years ago.
In fact, the chances of Moss making any sort of impact in 2019 are slim to none, but “never say never” a young apostle in Justin Bieber once said (joking!).
However, the Giants are thin on proven edge-rushers, which ultimately presents Moss with a small opportunity to break into the active roster and earn some playing time. In 2017, he started in two games, picking up 14 tackles and five quarterback hits. Not a bad bout of production but certainly nothing to write home about.
After what seemed to be a decent performance, Moss completely fell off the face of the earth, being buried by average players that earned the Giants a 23rd ranked defense last season. Not ideal for a player that seemed to have a spark to him in his rookie campaign.
Defensive Structure Does Not Dictate Assignment:
Watching some Avery Moss/#Giants '17 tape, and from a 4-3 under front the CB blitzes from the boun, and LDE Moss carries the TE vertically (believe Fireman). Just bc Spags ran a 4-3, did not mean the edges only rushed #GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/Rl5ChGVHuI— Nick Turchyn (@CoachTurch) June 19, 2019
The New York Giants certainly presented Avery Moss with a hurdle:
The biggest challenge for Moss has been adapting to the outside linebacker role, something even Olivier Vernon stated he struggled with. The positioning and diversity of the position is much different than a tradition pass-rushing defensive end. That’s where his falloff occurred, but it’s possible he’s adapted to the position after a year learning the role in the shadows.
He will have a fair shot at making the team during training camp this offseason, and we should look to see if he’s developed a bit more awareness in shallow coverage and rushing the passer from an upright position. All of these factors play into the outside linebacker position.