Why Thaddeus Moss reportedly wasn’t selected in the 2020 NFL Draft

The Washington Redskins landed Thaddeus Moss as an undrafted free agent. Here’s why the tight end wasn’t selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.

This offseason, the Redskins had a gaping hole to address at the tight end position. They cut Jordan Reed amid a disappointing, injury-filled tenure in Washington and saw veteran Vernon Davis call it quits after a late-career renaissance with the team.

Instead of going after one of the big-name targets in free agency, the Redskins elected to add depth at the position. They signed Logan Thomas and Richard Rodgers to compete for a role in the offense and while it was expected that they could target a potential young player with upside in the 2020 NFL Draft, they opted not to do that either.

The 2020 draft class was weak at the tight end position and only Cole Kmet went before the third round kicked off. The Redskins rightly punted on the position, knowing that they would still have holes left on the roster in 2020, and targeted talent at running back, offensive tackle, and receiver with their third and fourth-round picks.

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That said, the team did land a bit of a steal at the position in undrafted free agent Thaddeus Moss. The son of Randy Moss was expected to be a potential Day 3 target and was a player that the Redskins could’ve added late in Round 4 or in Round 5 with minimal qualms. Instead, they got him as an undrafted free agent, and it’s possible that he could outplay that billing.

But why exactly did Moss go undrafted? WalterFootball.com’s Charlie Campbell explained why NFL executives passed on him in one of his recent “Why Undrafted?” segments.

"Multiple team sources say that medical concerns around a foot injury and durability played a role in Moss going undrafted. They also said that size was an issue for the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder, as that is very short and lacking length for a NFL tight end. Another team said that it hurt Moss that he didn’t test before the draft and they felt he was slow with a bad body, but a good player at the college level."

This certainly makes sense. Moss couldn’t work out at the NFL Combine and that certainly hurt him, as there was little information about him available during the COVID-19 pandemic. His lacking length and size have been mentioned quite a bit as well and that’s part of the reason that some see him as more of an H-back at the NFL level.

It also didn’t help his cause that Moss had only one productive season at LSU in 2019. He caught 47 passes for 570 yards and four scores, but he was the fifth weapon in the team’s offense for the most part. Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Stephen Sullivan, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire all had to be accounted for on defense which led Joe Burrow to find Moss wide open frequently.

Though Moss has some shortcomings, he could still make an impact for Washington. He is good at finding space in zones and he made some nice catches during his time at LSU. He is also a willing blocker despite his smaller stature, so the ‘Skins can take advantage of that. If he can turn into a quality backup tight end or H-back early in his career, he should find a role with the team.

Ron Rivera has had success getting the most out of undrafted free agents in the past. Now, he and Scott Turner will look to see if they can help Moss develop into a quality tight end to add some youth and upside to one of the weaker positions on the roster.