Cornerbacks are a forgotten, but very important piece of the NFL defenses. Who is first on the cornerback position "must-have" list?
Kenny Moore, CB, Indianapolis Colts
Moore, a cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts, was signed as an undrafted college free agent in 2017 out of little Valdosta State University in Georgia. At just 5' 9" and 190 lbs, he brings a fire to the field. Moore has increased tackles in three of his four years in the league. In 2021, Moore was third in tackles, trailing Darius Leonard by just 20 tackles for the year.
Tackles are the staple of any successful IDP player. In leagues where you have to start a cornerback, getting one that produces tackle numbers will give you weekly wins. I present to you the number one tackler in the NFL for cornerbacks.
It wasn't even close in 2021. Moore produced 102 tackles with 82 of them being solo. Second was Bryce Hall with 80 tackles, 68 of which were solos.
Tackle Numbers that Compete with some of the Best Linebackers.
Moore had as many solo tackles in 2021 as both Alex Singleton and Fred Warner. He had more solo tackles than Jeremy Chinn, Jordan Hicks, and Derwin James.
Moore's career started in 2017 when he played in all 16 games and started five of those games. In those games, he produced 38 tackles (32 solos), 2 tackles for a loss, 5 passes defended, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble.
Moore's play was so impressive that he started all 15 games that he played in for 2018. He delivered with 77 tackles (63 solos), 4 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 11 passes defended, 3 interceptions, and another forced fumble.
2019 — The Year of Injuries.
Huge expectations for Moore in 2019 after his 2018 successes did not come to fruition. First off, in training camp, what was thought to be a jammed finger turned into surgery, and Moore began the regular season with a cast on his hand. Then, in Week 5, he hurt his knee and missed the next game also.
Week 13 was not lucky and gave Moore an injured ankle which cost him the rest of the season. In nine full games and parts of two others, he produced a very nice 61 tackles (50 solos), 4 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, 2 interceptions, and a fumble recovery.
We Will Overcome!
Moore bounced back very nicely from 2019 with a solid third year in the league. The Colts' CB produced 80 tackles (68 solos), 4 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 13 passes defended, 4 interceptions, 1 TD, and a forced fumble. In 2021, Moore had his best year yet with 102 tackles (82 solos), 6 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 13 passes defended, 4 interceptions, and another forced fumble.
I do not see Moore slowing down at all. He will turn just 27 in a couple of months. In my league, where we use tiered scoring, he was the eighth-highest scoring player out of all IDPs. He can separate your IDP team from all the others all by himself.
Let the others in your league say cornerbacks are a dime a dozen. Just make sure you give every real effort to get Moore on your roster. Buy him yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Thank you for checking out the latest article in the Buy/Sell/Keep series! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_FF and @IDPGuys (we have offense, too), and please check out our website at idpguys.org.
