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Moore, Moore, Moore
Rahim Moore Linking Self To Cowboys
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - Safety Rahim Moore of UCLA has heard a lot of different things about where he might be selected in the NFL Draft later this month.
"I hear from the late first round to the 40th pick," Moore said Tuesday. "So I think that's around my range."
The 40th overall choice, coincidentally enough, belongs to the Dallas Cowboys, who hosted Moore and 15 other draft prospects, with another 14 due to visit on Wednesday and even more coming on Friday for the team's annual workout with local products.
That Moore has been hearing from his agent and other sources that he won't slip past the Cowboys makes some sense. The underclassman free safety is widely considered the most talented player in this year's crop at his position, and the team has a fairly obvious need in that spot after a disappointing year of pass defense.
Moore, who grew up in Los Angeles paying attention to the Cowboys, he said, especially in their 1990s heyday, was somewhat surprised the team would need his services because he remembers the secondary as a strength of the team when Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson were on board.
Those days are long past, however, and the Cowboys have been attempting to stabilize their safety position since Woodson retired after the 2004 season.
"I heard about that," Moore said. "I told coach (Brett) Maxie, the (safety/secondary) coach that my uncle one day told me that they needed a safety, and I was surprised because, you know, the Cowboys stay with good defensive backs. So I found that out and I went through the process and found out that their need was safety, so I'd be glad to fill that position."
A starter since he stepped foot in Westwood, Moore may be just what the Cowboys need early in the draft - a defensive playmaker. He led the nation with 10 interceptions as a sophomore in 2009, and finished with 14 during his three-year college career. In 2010, he totaled 77 tackles, and despite logging just one pick, was tabbed an All-American by numerous publications.
The Cowboys could eventually need two new safeties, as Gerald Sensabaugh, their starter for the last two years, is due to become an unrestricted free agent whenever the new league year begins. Sensabaugh is more of a strong safety, however, while the 5-11, 202-pounder Moore is a traditional center fielder.
While he counts Sanders and Emmitt Smith as influences when he was a youngster, Moore now looks up to Baltimore's Ed Reed, the model of a ball-hawking safety in the modern NFL. A coach at UCLA put the two in contact before last season.
"Ed heard about me, so I got a chance to talk to him through the whole offseason," Moore said. "Throughout the year, I would talk to him once or twice a week, and he's helped me out so much. That's the kind of guy who I pretty much mimic. If I come to the Cowboys, that's the kind of player you'll get out of me - a guy who will be 100 percent dedicated, a guy who is going to go get that ball wherever it is."
If Moore could have anywhere near Reed's impact for the Cowboys, it would be a match made in heaven. It'll be almost four more weeks before the Cowboys will show they are as smitten with Moore as he is with them.
But already it's fair to think of Moore's visit to meet with coaches, scouts and front office members at Valley Ranch and Cowboys Stadium as a mutual flirtation.
"Being here, this is by far my favorite trip," Moore said. "I just hope this will be my last stop."
Rahim Moore Linking Self To Cowboys
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - Safety Rahim Moore of UCLA has heard a lot of different things about where he might be selected in the NFL Draft later this month.
"I hear from the late first round to the 40th pick," Moore said Tuesday. "So I think that's around my range."
The 40th overall choice, coincidentally enough, belongs to the Dallas Cowboys, who hosted Moore and 15 other draft prospects, with another 14 due to visit on Wednesday and even more coming on Friday for the team's annual workout with local products.
That Moore has been hearing from his agent and other sources that he won't slip past the Cowboys makes some sense. The underclassman free safety is widely considered the most talented player in this year's crop at his position, and the team has a fairly obvious need in that spot after a disappointing year of pass defense.
Moore, who grew up in Los Angeles paying attention to the Cowboys, he said, especially in their 1990s heyday, was somewhat surprised the team would need his services because he remembers the secondary as a strength of the team when Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson were on board.
Those days are long past, however, and the Cowboys have been attempting to stabilize their safety position since Woodson retired after the 2004 season.
"I heard about that," Moore said. "I told coach (Brett) Maxie, the (safety/secondary) coach that my uncle one day told me that they needed a safety, and I was surprised because, you know, the Cowboys stay with good defensive backs. So I found that out and I went through the process and found out that their need was safety, so I'd be glad to fill that position."
A starter since he stepped foot in Westwood, Moore may be just what the Cowboys need early in the draft - a defensive playmaker. He led the nation with 10 interceptions as a sophomore in 2009, and finished with 14 during his three-year college career. In 2010, he totaled 77 tackles, and despite logging just one pick, was tabbed an All-American by numerous publications.
The Cowboys could eventually need two new safeties, as Gerald Sensabaugh, their starter for the last two years, is due to become an unrestricted free agent whenever the new league year begins. Sensabaugh is more of a strong safety, however, while the 5-11, 202-pounder Moore is a traditional center fielder.
While he counts Sanders and Emmitt Smith as influences when he was a youngster, Moore now looks up to Baltimore's Ed Reed, the model of a ball-hawking safety in the modern NFL. A coach at UCLA put the two in contact before last season.
"Ed heard about me, so I got a chance to talk to him through the whole offseason," Moore said. "Throughout the year, I would talk to him once or twice a week, and he's helped me out so much. That's the kind of guy who I pretty much mimic. If I come to the Cowboys, that's the kind of player you'll get out of me - a guy who will be 100 percent dedicated, a guy who is going to go get that ball wherever it is."
If Moore could have anywhere near Reed's impact for the Cowboys, it would be a match made in heaven. It'll be almost four more weeks before the Cowboys will show they are as smitten with Moore as he is with them.
But already it's fair to think of Moore's visit to meet with coaches, scouts and front office members at Valley Ranch and Cowboys Stadium as a mutual flirtation.
"Being here, this is by far my favorite trip," Moore said. "I just hope this will be my last stop."