With the 52nd pick in this year’s draft, the Green Bay Packers have a few possible position groups to target. Defensive linemen and cornerbacks are the two most popular, but a third looms large with the departure of Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare this offseason. Michigan’s Derrick Moore could be a viable replacement.
With Micah Parsons likely to start next year on the PUP list, edge rusher becomes a vital position to hone in on this draft. Players like Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell have shown flashes, but not enough to indicate that the Packers have enough talent at edge. Sorrell finished 124 out of 125 edge rushers in pass-rush win rate last season, and Van Ness is yet to eclipse four sacks in a single season.
Derrick Moore could prove to be worthy of a Day 2 pick. He played all four of his college seasons with the Wolverines, where he posted a combined 23 tackles for loss and 21 sacks. He also notched three forced fumbles, along with 95 total tackles.
Moore was a four-star recruit from Baltimore before committing to Michigan in late 2021. He played every game as a freshman and later contributed to Michigan’s National Championship run the following season. After an injury-riddled junior campaign, Moore posted a career-high 10 sacks as a team captain his senior year.
Like Parsons, Moore is a smaller, more lanky edge rusher who specializes in getting after the quarterback. Despite his smaller-than-average size, though, he can overpower linemen, which he highlighted in his stellar Senior Bowl performance.
Derrick Moore is destroying folks at the Senior Bowl
His power profile is on full display—arguably the best in the class pic.twitter.com/fCCqAB2IKb
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 27, 2026
Moore has NFL-level closing speed and the power to get low and shed blockers. His senior year performance suggests his growth as a pure pass rusher, something Green Bay desperately needs to pair alongside Parsons.
He fits Green Bay’s new-age defensive philosophy with speed and tackling ability. Moore’s unofficial 40-yard dash time of 4.65 seconds ranks ninth out of all available edge rushers in the draft.
Moore has game-wrecking capabilities and possesses three-down potential. However, he doesn’t necessarily fit the Brian Gutekunst high-upside, high-athleticism mold. Still, he might be a case where the Packers should value pure production and development in college over raw traits.
Idk if Derrick Moore will meet all of Gutey's thresholds but he is such a fun player to watch.
Stood out at the Senior Bowl and his tape backs it up. pic.twitter.com/FIzrK0FdoU
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) March 18, 2026
Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, the last two notable pass rushers drafted in recent years, didn’t have all that much production in their college careers. Gary recorded only 10.5 sacks in his three years at Michigan, and Van Ness never started a game at Iowa, finishing with 13.5 sacks in two seasons in a rotational role.
Depending on who goes where, there could be a scenario in which none of Gutey’s top cornerback and defensive line picks are available at 52. If so, Moore would make the most sense at that spot.