Welcome to the BRoto “Everything You Need to Know About” Series. Throughout the offseason, we will deep-dive into players for the 2022 NFL season and examine the good, the bad, and everything in between.
SUBJECT: DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
WashingtonTimes.com
THE GOOD:
DJ Moore has been quite consistent over the past three seasons, finishing with over 1100 receiving yards and exactly 4 touchdowns in each of these seasons. This consistency came despite playing with a myriad of underwhelming quarterbacks. DJ Moore is the clear alpha receiver on the Panthers, evidenced by his 163 targets and 27.2% target share percentage in 2021, ranking 6th and 4th in the NFL, respectively. Moore finished with 93 receptions and 1157 yards which allowed him to finish 19th in PPR fantasy points, despite scoring just 4 touchdowns for the third straight year. Moore has a fantastic athletic profile and he uses this athleticism to effectively run routes all over the field. Moore finished 2022 10th in the NFL in total routes won. Moore is excellent after the catch as well, finishing with 426 yards after the catch in 2021, ranking 12th in the NFL. More importantly, Moore finished 5th in the NFL in YAC over expected, a Broto exclusive stat. This stat shows that Moore does very well in one on one situations and is able to beat his defender quite often. He also finished with 16 big plays on the season, good for 11th overall among WRs. No matter how you look at it, Moore is simply a very good wide receiver.
THE BAD:
DJ Moore’s consistency is great when it comes to his receiving yardage but not for his inability to find the endzone. Moore has finished each of the last 3 seasons with just 4 touchdowns each year. These 4 TDs are a career high as well, as he scored just twice as a rookie. Moore was also quite underwhelming in certain aspects of his game in 2022. His Yards Per Target of 7.1 ranked 72nd in the NFL, while also producing just 12.4 Yards Per Reception, good for 58th. These stats directly correlate with his true target value of 2.64, ranking 45th in the NFL, showing that the targets he was receiving were incredibly low value. Moore also finished just 50th in Average Depth of Target and 85th in Catch Percentage at 57.1%. The good news is that these are all QB dependent stats and not necessarily all Moore’s fault, but the bad news is that the Panthers QB room continues to underwhelm.
SUPPORTING CAST:
DJ Moore will be the number one wide receiver in Carolina alongside Robbie Anderson and Terrace Marshall, who both had abysmal 2021 seasons. There is not much for Moore to worry about in the Tight End room either, as Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble are unlikely to be big pass catching weapons. The real threat to Moore’s pass catching volume is the return of a healthy Christian McCaffrey, as he is the focal point of the Carolina offense and will receive plenty of work through the air and on the ground. Moore has found success in the past with McCaffrey on the field though, and the two should operate as the clear lead dogs in the offense.
The most important offseason move for the Panthers was the addition of Quarterback Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield will be the best quarterback that DJ Moore has stepped on to the field with, and that is more of a shot at the Panthers recent QBs than it is an endorsement for Mayfield. The hope is that Moore can create a rapport with Mayfield who can hopefully regain his rookie season magic and finally be the one to lead Moore to more than 4 receiving TDs.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK:
Matt Rhule remains the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, while Ben McAdoo takes over the role of offensive coordinator. The Panthers arguably have one of the weakest coaching staffs in the NFL, however, Moore has proven to be productive no matter the situation, and just got paid to be the alpha of their passing attack. Rhule provided Moore with a high target share in 2021 and I expect that to continue into 2022.
ADP REVIEW:
According to Sleeper, DJ Moore is currently being drafted around pick 47 in redraft PPR leagues as the WR15. He is being drafted as a WR2 with upside, which I can get behind. Moore is a great talent and could finish as a top 12 receiver if Baker Mayfield steps in and raises the ceiling of this offense.
The Fantasy Football by BRoto app is now live on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store!
Download it today for a start sit tool, player cards, statistics, usage, rankings, interactive tools, coaching tendencies, and much, much more. FREE for a limited time.
By Gianluca Martini
For a second straight season, I am betting against Mahomes.