Today, we continue our series on players to target in your dynasty leagues this season. Let’s keep the train moving as we break down our next recommended dynasty target, Elijah Moore
The year is 2052. You are on another reboot of This is Your Life. The person behind the screen describes being the sixth wide receiver taken in the 2021 NFL draft, ahead of a few receivers who were ranked ahead of him by many analysts. The mystery person continues, recounting a pretty good rookie season despite missing six games, and how he shot up dynasty fantasy football rankings everywhere in the offseason. Then, in a somber tone, he recalls how many dynasty managers, including you, were still skeptical because his team was not good, his young quarterback had doubters, and two dynamic rookies joined his squad in the 2022 NFL draft. Finally, the mystery guest reminds you of a 2022 dynasty targets article you ignored that could have moved you to buy him and enjoy the many years of fantasy greatness he had. It is time to reveal the person behind the screen – out walks… Elijah Moore. So do your future self a favor and actually read this so you can target him this offseason.
Background
Moore improved each of the three years he was at the University of Mississippi. In his final season there, 2020, Moore had an 86-1193-8 line…in the SEC… in only 8 games (COVID year). If you are into numbers, he had a dominator rating of 41.9% and a breakout age of 19.4 (Player Profiler). (For those of you wondering, those are very good.) Moore hit very good percentiles with his 40 time (4.40) and his agility score, while not disappointing with his speed score and burst score. He played most of his snaps from the slot in 2020, (79.8%, per PFF), but did fine when playing on the outside. in fact, since Moore “played bigger than his size” (5’9″ 178 lbs.), and did show the ability to play outside, a number of NFL teams did not hang the “tweener” label on him and considered him a versatile wide receiver. A common comparison for Moore was Tyler Lockett.
As the draft process moved along, Moore rose up NFL draft boards and dynasty rookie rankings, earning the label of “the better Moore” in relation to Rondale (who was actually the next WR taken in the draft). As fellow FIFer Jonathan Klonowski noted in the Rookie Snapshot he wrote on Moore, there were reports that the Jets considered taking Moore at 23 – so they were very pleased to land him in the early second (34th overall).
The Jets had an…. interesting season in 2021. For Moore, he missed six games due to injury, and his fellow rookie and potential franchise quarterback Zach Wilson missed four himself. Wilson looked better in the latter part of the season, and Moore showed some great flashes, leaving some saying he was the second-best rookie wide receiver, behind Ja’Marr Chase (though Jaylen Waddle was the more popular choice). In a truncated season, on a bad team with a rookie QB, Moore managed to put up a 43-538-5 line while averaging 12.51 yards per reception. His PFF numbers were not impressive, however, as he earned a 73.8 receiving grade and only managed 1.76 yards per route run. Interestingly, in a reversal of his college days, Moore took 70.8% of his snaps lined up out wide, and only 28.3% from the slot, highlighting his versatility.
Current Situation
Moore entered the 2022 offseason as the team’s clear WR1, hitched to a talented young QB with good potential. The team was expected to focus a lot on defense in this year’s draft, which would not hurt his role, but they also took wide receiver Garrett Wilson 10th overall, and later (35th overall) running back Breece Hall. Garrett Wilson is a different enough receiver from Moore, but will still command targets. Otherwise, with a healthy and hopefully improving Zach Wilson, the departure of Jamison Crowder, the further development of Michael Carter, and the addition of Hall, there is an increased likelihood of the overall offense improving. So Moore seems poised to take another step forward in 2022. He is rising in many rankings lists, and at the time this is being written, I have him ranked dynasty WR16, one spot above Garrett Wilson, and ahead of names like Michael Pittman and Jerry Jeudy.
Outlook
As you might imagine from my favorable description of his current situation, and from my ranking, Moore is a high-value, high-priority target for me. He is a dynamic, explosive, and versatile receiver entering only his second season. The arrow is definitely up for Moore. He is already highly valued by sharper, savvier managers, so you may not love his price in a trade. However, he’s still in a buy spot for me, partly because that price is only going to keep increasing, so it’s important to try to grab him sooner rather than later. At the same time, you may find a manager who got spooked by the drafting of Garret Wilson, so there could be a value play out there as well.
For those of you entering Superflex start-ups, Moore’s most recent DLF ADP has him at a late seventh/early eighth-round pick and WR28. That is a great value that reflects an overreaction to Garrett Wilson’s (WR21) arrival. Moore is being drafted behind guys that have no business going before him, in my opinion (e.g. Treylon Burks, Amari Cooper, and DeVonta Smith). So you may not have to be very aggressive to draft him, but a couple of things I try to remember in start-ups are: 1. There may be managers in here who are hip to the same guys and have a similar player valuation to me, and 2. Get your guys.
On the trade front, the Moore market will be different across your leagues, but there seems to be a dip given the startup data. For a reference point, in a standard 12-team, PPR, Superflex, tight end premium format, Dynasty Trade Calculator had Moore valued at just shy of the 2022 1.05 going into the NFL draft season, just shy of a 2023 1st, and a tiny bit above Derrick Henry. The gap between Moore and the 2023 1st is a tiny bit bigger, and Moore is now a couple of points shy of Henry, but that seems to still be the ballpark. Obviously, these sorts of analyses are really team-dependent, and Henry’s age and usage affects the calculus, but I would not take him or a 2023 1st straight up for Moore, unless I knew it was a top 3 pick. As a buyer, I might start a little lower than the ballpark and see where it goes, gauging the Moore manager’s post-draft valuation.
In looking into acquiring Elijah Moore, let’s remember that, in a 2021 post-draft interview, he said, “People say the sky’s the limit. That’s actually wrong. I don’t have any limits.” Now heed his words and acquire him so you can avoid that embarrassment in 2052. I’ve warned you.
Thanks for checking out our Dynasty Target article on Elijah Moore. Over the course of the summer make sure to click here for more Dynasty Target articles discussing players for you to acquire this season!
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