Redskins: Three players who should make the leap in 2019

There has been quite a bit of buzz about the younger corners on the Redskins roster. Jimmy Moreland has been getting a lot of attention as has Greg Stroman. However, Fabian Moreau has flown under the radar as a result despite being ready to make a leap of his own.

This offseason, Moreau has been praised by Jay Gruden who said he was “really, really, really impressed” by the third-year player’s performance in minicamp. This is coming off a season in which Moreau started 10 games and played 81 percent of the team’s snaps. He was mostly solid and flashed excellent upside throughout the year.

Moreau made the cut as one of my five most underappreciated players on the roster ahead of this season. Here’s what I said about him at that time.

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"Last season, Moreau was very solid in his role as the slot corner and later served as the No. 2 guy when Quinton Dunbar suffered a leg injury. He wasn’t perfect by any means, but the first-year starter had 58 tackles and one interception while showcasing the upside to be a good starter in the NFL. With another year of development under his belt, he could be a key part of the team’s secondary. And Gruden’s words seem to back that up. It’s possible that Stroman or Moreland could eventually become the slot man for the Redskins. But, that isn’t going to come at the expense of Moreau. If anything, they would move into that role if Dunbar or Josh Norman were to get hurt or benched."

People seem to forget that Moreau is just 25 and will only be entering his second season as a big-time starter/slot corner. He still has a lot of room for growth and while his ascension may not be as rapid as the team’s previous young third-round slot man, Kendall Fuller, Moreau still has the upside to continue his progression.

It should surprise nobody if Moreau continues to grow in the slot and pushes Dunbar or Norman for their starting spot ahead of the 2020 season. He has the ability and versatility needed to make the leap and be one of the team’s better defensive backs this year.