Jimmy Moreland has a big opportunity to prove himself with Fabian Moreau out

With slot cornerback Fabian Moreau out for the Redskins’ season opener at the very least, rookie seventh-round pick Jimmy Moreland has a big opportunity to prove himself.

During training camp and the preseason, one of the best stories for the Washington Redskins was the performance of seventh-round rookie cornerback, Jimmy Moreland. The undersized James Madison University product was all over the field in training camp making big-time plays and forcing turnovers, and that carried over to the preseason.

In his first preseason outing against the Cleveland Browns, Moreland was able to force two key fumbles to keep the Redskins competitive in the game until late in the fourth. He looked like a true ballhawk, risk-taker, and potential game-changer, and throughout the preseason, he continued to make splash plays.

Moreland played well enough that many felt he deserved a chance to play frequently. It appeared that he was in the lead to be the top backup at corner with Greg Stroman serving as more of a special teams option and return man, and that seemed to give the Redskins’ cornerback group a bright future.

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However, now it’s looking like Moreland could end up being a pseudo-starter, at least early on in the season. Fabian Moreau is dealing with foot injury that he suffered late during the preseason. As a result, he won’t play in the Redskins’ season opener. And if the end of the preseason was any indication, Moreland will take his spot in the lineup as the top slot corner.

Moreland’s inclusion in many packages should give him a massive opportunity to prove himself. It’s unclear how long Moreau might be out, but Moreland could make a case to take his spot as the top slot option if he plays well. Moreau has had a good offseason and made strides in his game last year, but Moreland is a new, young player. And if he can continue to demonstrate turnover-creating prowess against the Eagles, that would certainly be a good way for him to earn more playing time.

Of course, Moreland still has to prove that he can handle NFL regular season competition. He has the skill set needed to be a solid contributor, but the one issue he did have in the preseason was that he sometimes struggled in coverage. If he can’t clean that up at least a little bit, he could become a feast-or-famine type option in the slot. While the Redskins might like that, they may prefer a steady, more veteran player like Moreau to re-emerge as the top slot option when he’s healthy should Moreland have issues.

Beyond this year though, Moreland could put himself in the conversation to be a 2020 starter or top corner option if he performs well enough. The Redskins may have a chance to move on from Josh Norman‘s massive contract next offseason, and if they do, that could create a ripple effect where Moreau moves to the outside to play across from Quinton Dunbar while opening up some slot action for a guy like Moreland. Obviously, this is a very early audition for that, but it’s still worth noting that a solid performance in Week 1 could pay dividends down the line — if not, immediately.

In short, the opportunity is there for Moreland to prove himself. He’ll get his first chance to be an NFL-level playmaker in Week 1 vs. the Eagles. And his potential to emerge as a bigger contributor makes him one of our top players to watch in this week’s contest.