Draft or Pass: D.J. Moore is the Quintessential Third-Year Receiver, Break Out Ain't Over

Look for Carolina Panthers receiver D.J. Moore to build upon and continue his break out in his third season. SI Fantasy's Jaime Eisner explains his ADP value.

Jaime Eisner | May 26, 2020

It's never too early to start your fantasy football research, and we here at SI Fantasy want to provide you with the best information possible heading into your drafts. Our "Draft or Pass" video series takes a closer look at a fantasy player that will be debated often leading up to fantasy drafts. Are our hosts targeting this player specifically? Are they avoiding him entirely?

Today's video focuses on Carolina Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Draft or Pass at current ADP: 33.0 (WR12)?

It feels like the market is appropriately priced when it comes to the top Carolina Panthers wide receiver. Despite all the uncertainty that a new head coach (Matt Rhule), new offensive coordinator (Joe Brady), and new starting quarterback (Teddy Bridgewater) brings, Moore is an exciting young talent who really showed he could be highly successful even with lousy quarterback play last season.

He currently ranks as my WR12 after finishing last season as the WR12 in total points and WR15 in average points per game in PPR formats. Moore blossomed into a star in the ten games before his Week 16 injury. From Weeks 5-15, Moore was the WR6 with an average of 17.8 points per game. That's with Kyle Allen at quarterback. Bridgewater is an upgrade and should only help Moore maintain those lofty numbers. At the same time, other receivers around him in ADP like Keenan Allen and Julian Edelman got significant downgrades at QB.

AllPanthers reporter Jason Hewitt recently looked at whether Moore's career can parallel another Panthers great, Steve Smith.

In Steve Smith's first two years, he produced 64 receptions for 1,026 yards and three touchdowns. To compare, Moore had 142 receptions for 1,963 yards and six touchdowns in his first two years. If Moore continues to develop under Joe Brady's new offense, he could have a breakout season in his third year. Guess who had his breakout year in year three with 88 receptions for 1110 yards and seven touchdowns?

Is that sort of break out coming in 2020? We'll see. But I'd be thrilled to have Moore as my No. 1 WR if I draft RB-RB to start or have him as an elite WR2 to pair with one of the other top pass-catchers in the game.

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Published May 26, 2020

JAIME EISNER