Fabian Moreau

Fabian Moreau

Moreau with the Atlanta Falcons in 2021
No. 23 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1994-04-09) April 9, 1994 (age 30) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:	Western (Davie, Florida)
College:	UCLA (2012-2016)
NFL draft:	2017 / round: 3 / pick: 81
Career history
Washington Redskins / Football Team (2017–2020) Atlanta Falcons (2021) Houston Texans (2022)* New York Giants (2022) Denver Broncos (2023) Minnesota Vikings (2024–present)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles: 298 Forced fumbles: 3 Fumble recoveries: 1 Pass deflections: 42 Interceptions: 7
Player stats at PFR

Fabian Moreau (born April 9, 1994) is an American professional football cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He also played for the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos.

Early life

Moreau attended Western High School in Davie, Florida. He played running back and wide receiver. A 3-star recruit, Moreau committed to UCLA to play college football over offers from Boston College, Illinois, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest, among others.^[1][2]

College career

Moreau switched from running back to cornerback for UCLA, where he played from 2012 to 2016. He became a starter his sophomore year in 2013.^[3] He missed most of 2015 with a broken foot.^[4][5][6] During his career, Moreau had 149 tackles and three interceptions.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of UCLA, Moreau was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts to be a late first or second round pick. On January 21, 2017, he participated in the 2017 East-West Shrine Game and had an impressive performance that helped the West win 10–3. Moreau also received an invitation to the Reese's Senior Bowl, but declined due to being "nicked up". He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed nearly all of the required combine and positional drills, but opted to skip the bench press. On March 21, 2017, Moreau participated at UCLA's pro day and suffered a pectoral injury during his bench press. All 32 NFL teams had team representatives and scouts present to scout Moreau, Conor McDermott, Kenny Walker, Jayon Brown, Eddie Vanderdoes, and nine other prospects. He also performed positional drills for coaches that included Oakland Raiders' defensive backs coach Rod Woodson.^[7] The injury he suffered during the bench was first thought to be a strain, but was later discovered to be a torn pectoral muscle. On March 22, 2017, he had surgery to repair the injury.^[8] After suffering the injury, many analysts projected him to fall to the third round due to his history of injuries and a deep cornerback position in the draft.^[9] On March 21, 2017, he had a private meeting with the Detroit Lions.^[10] He was ranked the ninth best cornerback in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and ranked the 11th best by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.^[11][12]

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in (1.84 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	31+3⁄8 in (0.80 m)	9 in (0.23 m)	4.35 s	1.51 s	2.51 s	4.12 s	6.94 s	38 in (0.97 m)	11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)
All values from NFL Combine[13]

Washington Redskins / Football Team

The Washington Redskins selected Moreau in the third round (81st overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.^[14] He was the 12th cornerback selected in the draft.^[15]

On May 26, 2017, the Washington Redskins signed Moreau to a four-year, $3.33 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $825,392.^[16]

He competed with Kendall Fuller, Dashaun Phillips, and Josh Holsey for the job as the Redskins' starting nickelback.^[17] Head coach Jay Gruden named Moreau the Redskins' fifth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Josh Norman, Bashaud Breeland, Kendall Fuller, and Quinton Dunbar.^[18]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Redskins' season-opening 17-30 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The following week, he made the first tackle of his career in a 27-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. On October 15, 2017, Moreau recorded three combined tackles and his first career pass deflection during a 26-24 win against the San Francisco 49ers.^[19]

Moreau with the Redskins in January 2021

Having primarily started as the team's nickelback, interim head coach Bill Callahan had Moreau start outside replacing Josh Norman and playing opposite of Quinton Dunbar in Week 12 of 2019. In his first start outside against the Lions, Moreau intercepted two passes thrown by Jeff Driskel in the 19–16 win.^[20][21] In the following week against the Carolina Panthers, Moreau recorded his third interception of the season off a pass thrown by Kyle Allen in the 29–21 win.^[22] He was placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2019.^[23] He finished the season with 44 tackles, five passes defensed, and three interceptions through 12 games and seven starts.

Moreau made his return from injury in Week 1 of the 2020 season against the Eagles. During the game, Moreau intercepted a pass thrown by Carson Wentz in the 27–17 win.^[24] In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Moreau intercepted a pass thrown by Ryan Finley late in the fourth quarter to secure a 20–9 win for the Football Team.^[25]

Atlanta Falcons

On March 25, 2021, Moreau signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons.^[26]

Houston Texans

On May 31, 2022, Moreau signed with the Houston Texans.^[27] He was released on August 24.^[28]

New York Giants

On September 5, 2022, Moreau was signed to the New York Giants practice squad.^[29] Moreau was elevated from the practice squad for Week 2 and Week 3 games against the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys.^[30][31] On September 28, 2022, he was promoted to the active roster.^[32] Moreau finished the season with 749 snaps, a career high 66 tackles, and 10 pass defended. Moreau also had three performances this season where he kept the reception rate of his targets below 45 percent in 30 pass coverage snaps or more.^[33]

Denver Broncos

On August 2, 2023, Moreau signed with the Denver Broncos.^[34]

Minnesota Vikings

On July 31, 2024, Moreau signed with the Minnesota Vikings.^[35]

Personal life

Moreau was raised by his parents Berg and Guerly Moreau in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has two sisters, Faby and Fabriana. During his time at UCLA he was twice named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and majored in political science. He cites his hobbies as working out and playing basketball and the athletes he most admires as Michael Jordan and former Oregon running back LaMichael James.^[36] He is of Haitian descent.^[37]

References

1. Foster, Chris (January 14, 2012). "UCLA football: RB Fabian Moreau commits to the Bruins". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
2. "Fabian Moreau, 2012 Running Back - Rivals.com". N.rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
3. Register, Ryan Kartje | Orange County (April 19, 2014). "Moreau has UCLA defense's back".
4. "UCLA CB Fabian Moreau steps up and shuts down". September 13, 2016.
5. Register, Orange County Register | Orange County (August 13, 2016). "Bruins excited to have Fabian Moreau back".
6. "Injuries didn't stop UCLA's Fabian Moreau against BYU last season". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 2016.
7. Gil Brandt (March 28, 2017). "Pro day results: North Carolina, UCLA, Boston College". NFL.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
8. Chase Goodbread (March 24, 2017). "Potential first-round CB Moreau undergoes surgery for torn pectoral muscle". NFL.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
9. Chase Goodbread (March 23, 2017). "Fabian Moreau faces draft slide following pro day injury". NFL.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
10. Kent Lee Platte (March 27, 2017). "NFL Draft profile: Detroit Lions meet with extremely athletic CB Fabian Moreau". prideofdetroit.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
11. Mike Mayock (April 25, 2017). "Mike Mayock's 2017 NFL Draft top 100 prospect rankings". NFL.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
12. "Fabian Moreau, DS #9 CB, UCLA". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
13. "NFL Draft Profile: Fabian Moreau". NFL.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
14. Czarda, Stephen (April 29, 2017). "Redskins Add 10 For 2017 Draft Class". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
15. "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
16. "Spotrac.com: Fabian Moreau contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
17. "5 Washington Redskins position battles to watch during 2017 offseason". riggosrag.com. May 16, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
18. "Washington Redskins' depth chart: 10/01/2017". ourlads.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
19. "NFL Player Profile: Fabian Moreau". NFL.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
20. "Redskins come back to beat Lions for 2nd win of season". ESPN. Associated Press. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
21. Carpenter, Les (November 28, 2019). "Josh Norman's benching gives Fabian Moreau a chance to prove he belongs outside". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
22. "Guise, Redskins hold on to beat Panthers 29-21". ESPN. December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
23. "Redskins Place CB Fabian Moreau, S Montae Nicholson On Injured Reserve; Sign S Kenny Ladler, WR Jester Weah". Redskins.com. December 27, 2019. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
24. "Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Football Team - September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
25. "Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Football Team - November 22nd, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
26. Deighton, John (March 25, 2021). "Falcons Sign RB Mike Davis, LB Barkevious Mingo and CB Fabian Moreau". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
27. "Houston Texans Transactions (5-31-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. May 31, 2022.
28. "Houston Texans Transactions (8-24-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. August 24, 2022.
29. "Giants sign DB Fabian Moreau to practice squad, release two". Giants Wire. USA Today. September 5, 2022.
30. Salomone, Dan (September 17, 2022). "Giants activate DBs Tony Jefferson, Fabian Moreau from practice squad". Giants.com.
31. Salomone, Dan (September 26, 2022). "Giants activate DL Henry Mondeaux, DB Fabian Moreau for MNF vs. Cowboys". Giants.com.
32. Eisen, Michael (September 28, 2022). "Giants sign CB Fabian Moreau off practice squad; Sterling Shepard to IR". Giants.com.
33. Dumont, Oliver (February 17, 2023). "New York Giants 2023 UFA Primer: CB Fabian Moreau". si.com.
34. "Broncos sign CB Fabian Moreau, place WR Tim Patrick on IR". DenverBroncos.com. August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
35. "Vikings Sign Cornerback Fabian Moreau". Vikings.com. July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
36. "UCLA Bruins: Fabian Moreau". uclabruins.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
37. Ledbetter, D. Orlando. "Moreau looking to help in Falcons' short-handed secondary" – via AJC.com.

External links

• UCLA Bruins bio