NFL veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Moreau has spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Washington Football Team after being drafted in the third round out of UCLA in 2017. However, he started just one game in 2020 after starting in 17 his past two seasons. This was attributed to the four-year, $40 million contract given to Kendall Fuller and the emergence of Ronald Darby, who signed a one-year contract in 2020.
The #Falcons have agreed to terms with former Washington CB Fabian Moreau on a one-year deal, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 24, 2021
Fabian Moreau, Atlanta Falcons, Agree to Contract
The 26-year old cornerback, out of Fort Lauderdale, played five seasons for the Bruins after redshirting his freshman season. Starting 38 games, Moreau didn’t possess the best ball skills, intercepting just three passes, but he was an excellent athlete with the ability to play physical man coverage or in zone. By his senior season, Moreau was projected to be a late-first or early-second round pick in the draft, especially after running a 4.35 at the NFL Draft combine. But, Moreau tore his pectoral muscle during the bench press, causing him to slip in the draft.
In his rookie season, Moreau primarily played on special teams, as Washington used a similar approach as they did with Kendall Fuller, who was coming off an injury the year before. Then, in 2018 and 2019, Moreau found the field, but struggled. He played in the slot, which was not his best position, projecting as an outside corner. However, after Josh Norman went down in 2019, Moreau finally got an opportunity to play as a boundary corner. Over his last four games in 2019, Moreau had three interceptions and four passes defended, showing off his speed and physicality.
2020 turned out to be an odd year for Moreau. Since Fuller was battling a knee injury throughout training camp, Moreau played 72 snaps in the first two games. He made the most of his snaps, intercepting Carson Wentz in Week 1. But, with the return of Fuller and the solid play of Darby and Jimmy Moreland, Moreau was knocked out of the cornerback rotation. Moreau did play crucial snaps late in the season, but his snap count wasn’t near his 46% and 53% marks in the first two weeks.
Moreau has clearly shown that he has upside as a boundary corner and could be an interesting piece moving forward.
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