NextGen Stat Reveals How Crucial CB Riley Moss is To Broncos Defense

Up until Week 12, Denver Broncos second-year cornerback Riley Moss could do no wrong in the eyes of the fan base. The Broncos fielded a top-seven passing defense entering Week 12 when Moss went down with a knee injury.

He would miss the next four games but returned in time to face the red-hot Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17. The rust fell off Moss in chunks that day as Burrow torched him and the Broncos defense to the tune of 412 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Moss bounced back in the season finale vs. the Kansas City Chiefs' backup squad, but by the time the Broncos emerged from their Wildcard loss to the Buffalo Bills, many fans had begun to revert back to assertions that he should be moved to safety. Thanks to his injury, by the way, the Broncos' defense plummeted, finishing as the NFL's 19th-ranked passing unit.

The Broncos do have some question marks at safety entering the 2025 offseason, but they'd be remiss to even contemplate moving Moss. If this NextGen Stats metric doesn't illustrate that, I don't know what will.

Moss allowed an average of 2.2 yards of separation on his coverage snaps this past season. That mark tied him for the third-lowest among all NFL cornerbacks with a minimum of 375 coverage snaps in 2024, again, per NextGen Stats.

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That mark was even better than Patrick Surtain II's, who is poised to bring home the Defensive Player of the Year award. Do you still want to move Moss to safety?

Average yards of separation rankings among NFL CBs in 2024. | Denver Broncos

I get it; the Broncos have a need at safety after P.J. Locke failed to launch as a full-time starter. Brandon Jones was excellent, though, delivering Pro Bowl-caliber play.

Moss not only distinguishes himself with his sticky coverage, but also his physicality and willingness to hit and tackle. Even though he missed a good chunk of Week 12 and four additional games, he still finished as the Broncos' third-leading tackler — a rarity for a corner.

That physicality could be harnessed to great effect as the last line of defense on the back end, but top-level cornerbacks are harder to find than physical safeties. The Broncos aren't going to move Moss.

Recovering from an injury that cost him more than a month of real time, only to be reinserted into the lineup down the stretch in a game against the NFL's best quarterback (arguably) in 2024 and in a game with do-or-die-level stakes for both teams, Moss deserves the benefit of the doubt from fans. Considering how he played opposite of the most feared corner in the NFL for the preceeding 12 weeks, it's actually quite remarkable how well Moss has answered the bell.

Whoever plays opposite of Surtain on the boundary — to quote head coach Sean Payton — is going to get "a lot of business" from quarterbacks. Moss shouldered that burden with aplomb and acquitted himself remarkably well in his first full season as a starter.

Moss was Denver's third-round pick in 2023 out of Iowa. In Year 2, he finished with eight pass break-ups, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and 65 solo tackles (!).

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