Elijah Moore Season Review
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Elijah Moore has been nothing short of electric for the Jets in his first season. Moore was an absolute steal for the New York Jets at 34th overall in the 2021 draft and has much more to prove.
The 2nd round pick had a slow start into the 2021 season, as that can come with any rookie. Especially for the youngest team in the NFL, where a lot of the 2021 draft class was thrown right into the action with little experience. Through the first 7 weeks of the season, we did not see Moore heavily involved with the game plan, and had not surpassed 90 yards receiving. From week 8 to week 13, which was the last week Moore played before going on IR. Moore had gathered 34 receptions (9th), 51 targets (7th), 459 receiving yards (6th), and 5 touchdowns since week 7 against the Patriots.
The young receiver out of Ole Miss had a great opportunity to learn under veteran slot receiver Jamison Crowder, who played a great mentorship role in Moore's development throughout the season. He is an extremely shifty receiver who puts defenders on skates. Especially in man coverage where he can torch a corner with his quick footwork and speed. Overall on the season, Moore had 43 receptions for 538 yards, and 6 total touchdowns in just 13 games played this year.
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His best game this season came in week 11 against the Miami Dolphins. The Jets were still without Zach Wilson due to injury and had veteran Super Bowl XLVII champion Joe Flacco starting at QB. Moore was unstoppable, torching the defense with his elusive speed and cuts that can be a nightmare for opposing defenses. He was left in man coverage many times and used it to his advantage. Elijah Moore had 8 receptions for 141 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns (156 all-purpose yards) in this game. What was most impressive about his performance was his ability to absorb countless big hits after the catch.
Moore runs for a 62 yard catch and touchdown from Joe Flacco.
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Over the last 6 weeks he played, Moore had only 1 drop. He was 1 of 5 receivers in the league with 30 or more receptions over this period. It was our first glimpse of true consistency for the wide receiver and his big play ability. People can argue that Moore first showed out against the Colts in week 9, where the Jets comeback led by QB Josh Johnson fell short. Moore had 7 receptions for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 30-45 loss to Indianapolis. Within this 6 game span, we saw a big jump in Moore's production that will hopefully be carried on into the next season when healthy. Throwing to Moore boosted the Jets QB passer ratings by 48.4 points. His 127.0 passer rating when targeted ranked 6th best amongst wide receivers from weeks 8-13 (Jetsxfactor.com). Needless to say, we got to see just a glimpse of what Elijah Moore is capable of and when healthy can lift this young New York Jets offense to new heights.