Emmanuel Moseley is “at the Top of his Game” says DeMeco Ryans
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Emmanuel Moseley is starting off training camp red hot.
The fourth-year undrafted cornerback registered a phenomenal day at practice Thursday, per my editor Grant Cohn. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to hear this. Moseley has been a vastly underrated corner the past two seasons. This year, he’ll finally get that recognition. It's why I have him as my No. 1 player to breakout in 2022.
I feel even more confident in my prediction after the high praise he received from defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
“E-Man is definitely one of those guys who is, right now, at the top of his game.” said Ryans at his post-practice press conference Thursday. “E-Man has continued to grow and develop. He's one of the hardest working guys we've had, so all throughout the spring practices, OTAs and mini-camp, throughout the summer and even now you can see the work that E-Man has put in while we're all away. You can see that he's ready to go.”
Ryans has never been one to mince words. He’ll either share it truthfully with transparency or he won’t share it all. His latest praise of Moseley should excite 49ers fans. Last season, Moseley had to take on the responsibility as the best cornerback for the defense. His coverage was stout throughout the year and wasn’t targeted as much. When you have Josh Norman playing opposite you, then it makes sense why the targets weren’t frequent. Still, Moseley has proven to continue to elevate his talents since 2019.
There is no reason to doubt he can’t continue to do it this season. He’s excellent in zone, playing off his receiver, coming up to tackle, and isn’t given enough credit as a man-coverage cornerback. Now that the 49ers have Charvarius Ward who excels in press coverage, Ryans can call more man-to-man than he did last year.
All that stands in his way is his own body. Moseley has been sneaky injury prone throughout his career. He’s always bound to miss several games in a season. If he can finally catch a break and put together a full season, then there is no doubt in my mind he’ll end up turning heads. So far, it sounds like he’s been doing a great job with keeping his body in peak form to potentially reduce the chances of sustaining an injury.
“He's been doing a great job, taking care of his body, looks like he's gotten bigger, added some weight, looks stronger,” said Ryans. “E-Man is in a really good spot and he's continued to show that each and every practice from yesterday and today, he's just been consistent. And that's all we ask of all our guys, just continue to be as consistent as they can be.”
Opportunities to make a play on the ball should increase for Moseley now that he isn’t the best cornerback to attack… for now. Offenses will want to test him more so than Ward and that is where Moseley will start to see his name shine finally.
Fingers crossed that luck is on his side for a healthy season.
