Washington Football: Top 3 All-Pac-12 candidates for 2020
By Nick Fiore
2. Elijah Molden, Cornerback
Entering his senior season, Elijah Molden is one of the best corners in the Pac-12 and will likely be one of the first defensive backs off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’ll be joining the long list of Husky defensive backs in the NFL, including Marcus Peters and Desmond Trufant.
Molden led the team in tackles with 79 and interceptions with four and made first-team All-Pac-12 last season as a junior. He took a major step in his game between his sophomore and junior seasons.
After being more of a rotation guy as a sophomore, Molden became the Huskies’ top defensive back and a huge playmaker for their defense in 2019. Look for him to take another step and try and join the All-American team this season.
The Pac-12 has some really strong talent in the secondary with Thomas Graham Jr. and Deommodore Lenoir out of Oregon, Paulson Adebo from Stanford and Cam Bynum from Cal.
Molden’s going to be a key member of this Huskies defensive that should be one of the best in the conference. There’s some inexperience and question marks on the offensive side of the ball so he and this defense are going to really have to ball out to win games, which I think they will.
Even with the tough competition for a spot on the first team, Molden is really that dude and should make the first team again before getting his shot in the NFL.