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Here at Niners Nation, we're presenting a series called "90-in-90". We'll be looking at every player on the 49ers offseason roster, one player per post, from now until the start of training camp.
The 49ers selected Nick Moody in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. This is generally the place you find good special teams players who may or may not pan-out as actual contributors elsewhere. From what I've seen of Moody so far, he seems to fit the bill.
Moody was once a safety for Florida State, so he has some speed to his game. He moved over to linebacker for his final season. He's somewhat on the small side at 6'1" 236 lbs., although Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman were thought to be on the small side, as well. Moody figures to compete for spots on coverage teams as well as return teams, but imagine a linebacker who can run like a safety, has a mean streak, flying down the field with the kick returner in his sights.
If he plays his cards right, Moody could start to get looks as a backup inside linebacker down the road, too. He locates the ball and plays sideline-to-sideline pretty well from his cut-ups. Take a look:
Potential 2013 Impact
Again, I think Moody is going to play hard on special teams in the pre-season and turn some heads. He has to know this is his ticket onto the squad and it's something he's done a lot of in college already. I'm hoping to see him make a few key tackles, perhaps a forced fumble or a blocked punt in his rookie season.
Odds of making the roster
If I had to put a number on it I'd say Moody is around 60/40 right now. He has to go up against veteran backup ILBs who also play special teams in Dan Skuta and Nathan Stupar (although Stupar is just in his second season), but Moody seems to have coveted athleticism for coverage units as well as a knack for finding the football. I like his odds, but this is a crowded roster, so it won't be given to him.