Fourth Gear: Malachi Moore, Jets’ Day 3 Draft Choice, Has a Lot Going for Him
The Jets have had a way, off and on, with uncovering fourth-round gems. And they may have done it again with the selection of Malachi Moore 130th overall at this year’s NFL Draft.
“I’ve been dreaming of this ever since I started playing football as a little kid in the first grade,” the Alabama safety told newyorkjets.com senior reporter Eric Allen in his first postdraft interview as a member of the Jets. “To finally get here, all the memories of early workouts, late nights, the ups and downs of what it took to get here, all the sacrifices I had to make and my family had to make — it definitely all hits you at one time.”
OK, so every player is happy to be drafted. No big deal there. But not every player has played in and won a national championship on the FBS level. Moore, in the first of his five seasons at ‘Bama, was a starter on the Tide’s national championship team, then went to “the Nati’ ” again the next year, a loss.
Moore also enjoyed a long career with the storied program (64 games, 46 starts), and until the 2024 season, he spent his ‘Bama career playing for head coach Nick Saban, another plus for the young man from Trussville, AL.
“I took a lot from him,” Moore said. “The biggest thing was to focus on the process. Don’t be results-oriented, just be where your feet are and keep working hard. That was the thing about Coach Saban that I admired so much was his schedule. Each and every day he would eat his oatmeal cream pie or drink his coffee or get ready for practice, always on a routine. I can respect that because he was getting the most out of his 24 hours.”
One more positive just from Moore’s choice of college. He was the fifth of the Jets’ first five draft picks and the fourth of those five to get his football education in the Southeastern Conference.
“We matched up with each other,” Moore said of some occasional run-ins with second-round TE Mason Taylor from LSU and fellow fourth-round WR Arian Smith from Georgia (but not so much with Round 1 RT Armand Membou of Missouri). “We’re going to be friends and teammates now that we’re not rivals in the SEC. Both of them are great players, both highly scouted when we were playing them on our scouting report. I know what they’re capable of, I’ve watched them throughout their college careers.”
But so much for the school and the conference. What are the positives about Moore the player? For one, he’s got incredible position curiosity and flexibility.
“I played free safety, strong safety, nickel — and I played even a little corner at practice from time to time,” he said. “That’s something I pride myself in is being versatile, because you never know who’s going to go down in a game. I want to make sure I’m prepared, if I’m in those situations, to succeed.”
Moore sounds like the team leader type. And in fact he was named a ‘Bama team captain his final two seasons.
“I look at leadership as a privilege. I feel it’s something that’s earned every single day,” he said. “Being a leader brings pressure, but pressure is a privilege, too. A lot of people expect a lot out of you. To whom much is given, much is required. So I love being a leader. It’s something I believe I was naturally born to do.”
Did we mention Moore loves playing special teams. With all these pluses, how did he drop into the Day 3 pool?
He’s not the biggest safety body around (5-11, 196), and he had some missed-tackle issues playing deep safety for the first time last season. He also was battling an injury, reported to be a hernia, for a while that required surgery and cost him the Tide’s bowl game plus the combine testing and Alabama’s first pro day. But he came back for the second pro day to turn in a good showing with a 4.57 in the 40, and a 10-6 broad jump.
All this and Moore has thumbed his nose at superstition by wearing uniform No. 13, at Hewitt-Trussville HS and all the way through his Alabama years. He can’t wear it with the Jets — it’s retired in honor of the late, great WR Don Maynard — but that hasn’t dimmed his enthusiasm for trading in ‘Bama red for Jets green.
“It definitely means a lot,” Moore said of the Jets making their first draft-day trade of the GM Darren Mougey/HC Aaron Glenn era to move up 15 spots in Round 4 and grab him. “For them to look at me and feel like I can contribute to the success of this organization, I’m excited, man. I’m truly blessed
