The Jets finally have one safety spot spoken for after trading for Minkah Fitzpatrick and handing him a three-year, $40 million extension. The bigger question now is who lines up next to him, and that’s where Malachi Moore comes in.
For New York, the ideal outcome is a real battle in training camp - the kind that forces everyone to earn it. Moore and Dane Belton are set to compete for the second safety job, and if Moore takes it, the Jets will gladly call that a win.
Moore, a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, was thrown into the fire right away as a rookie. He played in all 17 games, logged 950 defensive snaps, which came out to 84 percent, and started 14 times. He finished with 101 total tackles, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble.
The numbers on the advanced side show there’s still work to do. Per Pro Football Focus, Moore posted a 58.9 overall grade, which ranked 72nd among 98 graded safeties. His 54 coverage grade was 70th among 98 safeties, while his 70.1 run defense grade checked in at 53rd.
That’s not the profile of a finished product, but it is the profile of a player the Jets clearly believe can grow fast. Heading into Year 2, Moore should be better prepared for what’s coming, and he’ll need that improvement to beat out Belton.
Belton arrives with more NFL mileage and a one-year deal that can reach $6 million. He’s put together a sturdy career as a rotational safety, appearing in 66 games with 22 starts. His stat line includes 240 total tackles, eight TFLs, 16 pass deflections, four forced fumbles, and six interceptions.
He also brings a calling card that matters in a competition like this: he tackles. Last season, according to PFF, Belton had the lowest missed tackle percentage among safeties who played at least 400 snaps, at 4.1 percent, as The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt pointed out.
That gives Belton a real case to open camp with the edge. But the Jets drafted Moore for a reason, and head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey have made that clear with the way they’ve handled him. They like what they see.
Moore’s background at Alabama only adds to the appeal. He was a four-year starter, worked at multiple spots including the “star” nickel role and safety, and became the first freshman to start a Crimson Tide opener since Fitzpatrick. He also served as a team captain.
That blend of versatility, experience, and leadership is why Moore is such an important name in this camp race. If he wins the job, New York could roll out Fitzpatrick and Moore as the starting duo, with Belton sliding to third on the depth chart. That would push Andre Cisco and VJ Payne into the fourth spot battle, exactly the kind of depth chart tension the Jets want to see when camp opens in Florham Park in a couple of weeks.
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