Seahawks 2021 Free Agent Primer: David Moore

Though he continued to battle consistency woes in 2020, Moore established new career bests in receptions and touchdowns. Will Seattle bring back the tantalizing receiver with hopes 2021 will finally be his breakthrough season?

Following an early Wild Card round exit, the Seahawks have officially transitioned into an offseason that could be one of the most significant of the Pete Carroll and John Schneider era.

When the new 2021 league year kicks off in March, Seattle will have a whopping 24 players set to become unrestricted free agents. Four players will be restricted free agents, while six will be exclusive rights free agents and several others will be entering the final year of their current contracts ready to negotiate extensions, including safety Jamal Adams.

Over the next several weeks, I will break down each and every one of the Seahawks' unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2020 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, breaking down an ideal contract, and making an early prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2021.

Continuing the series, David Moore got off to a hot start in 2020 before cooling off with the rest of Seattle's offense in the final two months. Still possessing plenty of untapped potential, will the former seventh round pick return to catch passes from Russell Wilson for a fifth season?

Season In Review

After agreeing to a restructured contract, Moore remained on Seattle's 53-man roster out of training camp and made several splashy plays during the first four weeks of the season, including two highlight reel-worthy touchdown receptions in wins over the Patriots and Dolphins. In the first nine games, he had 20 receptions for 316 yards and had posted a 76.9 percent catch rate, well above his career average. But from Week 10 on, as Seattle's offense sputtered down the stretch, the former East Central University standout barely exceeded 100 receiving yards over the final seven regular season games and had five games with 10 or less receiving yards. Despite the underwhelming finish, he still wrapped up the season with career-highs in receptions (35) and touchdowns (6).

Why Seattle Should Re-Sign Him

When Moore is playing at his best, he stacks up favorably against the vast majority of No. 3 receivers in the NFL. At the midway point of the 2020 season, he was on pace for over 650 receiving yards and eight touchdowns thriving in one of the league's most potent passing attacks. He has exquisite body control, particularly on downfield throws where he's able to compete for jump balls, and excels at getting his feet down inbounds to cap off difficult catches. Built with a powerful lower body, he's an asset as a runner and rushed eight times for 61 yards and four first downs over the course of the season. He also has had a few flashes on special teams returning punts, though he did lose that job to D.J. Reed late in the year.

Why Seattle Should Let Him Walk

Since he first started receiving regular playing time in 2018, Moore has struggled mightily with inconsistency. That season, he had an eight-game stretch with 413 receiving yards and five touchdowns, only to disappear with just four catches for 32 yards in the final five games afterward. In 2019, he had nine games with one or less receptions and only scored two touchdowns in 14 games. Then last season, he had just one game with more than 20 receiving yards in the entire second half. Having DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett around him limited his opportunities at times, but that's still not going to cut it. Add in the fact that he lost his punt return role and his value took a hit in the final two months.

Ideal Contract

1 year at $2.5 million

Prediction

Moore has tantalized with his athletic gifts during each of the last three seasons, but his inability to put everything together has been frustrating for the Seahawks. Every time he seems to have turned the corner, he follows up with a lengthy stretch with minimal production and seems to go into invisible mode. Since he's still just 26 years old, the organization may be inclined to give him another one-year contract to see if 2021 is the year where he finally breaks out alongside Metcalf and Lockett, especially with a new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron who may be able to better utilize his strengths. However, with this year's free agent and draft classes stacked at the receiver position, Seattle will likely choose to go in a different direction.

Previous Seahawks Free Agent Primers

Chris Carson

K.J. Wright

Shaquill Griffin

Mike Iupati

Benson Mayowa

Quinton Dunbar

Ethan Pocic

Jacob Hollister

Bruce Irvin

Carlos Hyde

Cedric Ogbuehi