DJ Moore was a popular player before the start of the 2020 season. A lot of fantasy “experts” comically referred to Moore as a WR1 for the upcoming season. Four games into the season, the hype has gone off the rails, and those declarations are silly.
During the 2018 NFL Draft process, I was adamant that Moore was not the best wide receiver in the 2018 class. Calvin Ridley was head and shoulders better than him. Of course, during the first four weeks of the season, that narrative is starting to take shape. Ridley is emerging as one of the best receivers in football. The guy Carolina picked is, meh?
There has been a fascinating development happening in Carolina. I’m not sure I can even take credit for this even though I’ve always been very high on Robby Anderson. Let’s be honest about this; Anderson is better than Moore.
Anderson no longer looks like a one-trick pony anymore. It’s another example in the long list of players who have gotten better since leaving Adam Gase. Anderson was mostly just a deep threat with the Jets. With Carolina? Oh, Anderson is much more, and reuniting with his former collegiate coach at Temple has done wonders for his career.
Teddy Bridgewater has been far from brilliant this year. The fact of the matter is Anderson is flat out better than Moore (or at least through four games in 2020).
DJ Moore: 32 targets, 18 receptions, 288 yards, 0 touchdowns.
Robby Anderson: 34 targets, 28 receptions, 377 yards, 1 touchdown.
The former Maryland product is averaging 1.5 yards of separation per target. That ranks 63rd in the NFL. Moore checks in with 4.42 speed, which is a great number. Moore isn’t an outstanding route runner. He’s also failed to become the lead dog with the addition of Anderson.
DJ Moore is a solid player and very much a B receiver. But the hype about him being a WR1 for fantasy was always laughable. Moore’s not even dominating, and Christian McCaffrey is hurt. What happens when CMC returns to action and takes up those targets? Moore’s fantasy owners should be panicking.
