Carolina Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig was a true Swiss-army knife for Ejiro Evero’s defense last season and proved to be a valuable addition that general manager Dan Morgan added in last offseason.

Moehrig is still not a household name around the NFL when looking at the top players at his position, but his first season in Carolina was still deserving enough to garner some high praise from those inside the NFL.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released his position rankings on Thursday after polling coaches, executives, and scouts around the league. For the second year in a row, Moehrig came in as an honorable mention on the list just outside of the Top-10. Yet, his value to the defense and the multiple roles he can play was still highly appreciated, even if he deserved a spot higher on this list.

What makes Tre’von Moehrig so valuable to the Panthers defense

For starters, the guy doesn’t come off the field (outside of his one game suspension). Moehrig played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in 13 of his 16 games played last season. He’s a dependable player in that regard and it’s more impressive when you take a look at the multiple hats he wears for this unit.

Moehrig played 481 snaps in the box, 322 snaps at slot corner, 160 snaps at free safety, and 102 snaps on the defensive line. Playing closer to the line of scrimmage his easily Moehrig’s strength as a player where he’s able to attack against the run and be physical at the line of scrimmage against wide receivers and tight ends.

“One of the most versatile players in the league,” one NFL defensive backs coach explained. “He can play safety, dime or nickel. Really good rusher. He can blitz, take on blocks like an OLB and an LB and can also be productive in the deep part of the field.”

Productivity was a big part of Moehrig’s game last season, the guy was simply all over the ball on nearly every play. He recorded 103 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss (led all defensive backs), 7 QB hits, 3.0 sacks, one interception, and two pass deflections. To put that into perspective, Moehrig was the only defensive back in the NFL last season to have 100+ tackles and 10+ tackles for a loss.

“It just kind of touches on his football acumen,” Evero said of Moehrig. “Extremely, extremely intelligent, the amount of information that he has to understand and that he has to convey and process to do all of those different jobs, people would never grasp the multitude of things that he has to learn and do. And to be able to operate and execute at such a high level is, I mean, it’s unfathomable, and so a lot of kudos there.”

It’s a rare blend of versatility, intelligence, and an enforcing play-style to be the kind of player Moehrig was for the Panthers last season. And it didn’t go unnoticed inside the building.

“He’s the first (safety) in my career that I’ve seen like that,” former Panthers veteran defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson said last season. “He’s a D-lineman in my book, how he plays, but he has that fire. He doesn’t care what size; if the O-lineman comes out, he’s going to strike him, get on and off the block, and make that tackle. So I can respect him. All praise, like to me, he’s an All-Pro. He’s an All-Pro safety.”

While he might not have gotten that recognition, more people should be paying attention to what Moehrig’s actually doing out there on a weekly basis. He’s a star-caliber talent for this defense and needs to be recognized like it.