Jets’ Malachi Moore quickly emerging as one of the NFL Draft’s biggest steals

As a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, expectations were tempered for former Alabama safety Malachi Moore as he embarks upon his rookie season for the New York Jets. Perhaps they shouldn't have been.

In the Jets' final preseason game on Friday before the start of the regular season, Moore flashed his potential to become not just a starting safety in the NFL, but perhaps a star and future Pro Bowler. Moore has always played with elite football instincts, and those, along with his ability to be a ballhawk, were on full display for the Jets against the Eagles.

Moore played the first half on Friday and made his presence felt from the opening whistle as he looks to carve out a role for the Jets as a rookie. He finished with seven tackles, a tackle-for-loss, and an interception.

Moore's interception came in the first quarter when Eagles rookie QB Kyle McCord airmailed a pass over his receiver's head. Moore came over the top and made an athletic play to come down with the pick:

That was far from the only impressive moment for Moore. Later, he broke through the line of scrimmage on a blitz and stopped an Eagles running back in the backfield for a big loss:

Moore is hungry to get on the field when the regular season begins. He'll do it by any means necessary, even if that requires him to play special teams. He made a big play on punt coverage, too, for good measure:

Malachi Moore could be pushing for a starting role in New York

Moore is currently listed as the backup FS for the Jets behind veteran Andre Cisco, but it might not be long before he breaks into a starting role. He's already bringing excitement to the Jets' defense in preseason, and his football IQ is as high as it gets.

None of this comes as a surprise to Alabama fans. Moore was effectively a five-year starter for the Crimson Tide, sticking around for an extra year to help bridge the gap to a new era of Alabama football from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer.

He'll forever be in the good graces of Alabama fans for that. He may not be wearing Crimson anymore, but Tide fans will root for him wherever his career takes him.