When the Panthers drafted DJ Moore in the first round, they largely knew what they were getting: a highly athletic receiver who showed all the tools needed to be a number one receiver at times, but one who struggled to consistently put them all together. Knowing this, it wasn’t hugely surprising that Moore didn’t come out Week 1 guns blazing looking to take the league by storm; what was surprising was how little the Panthers used him through the early parts of the season – Moore has only the ninth-most targets among rookie wide receivers in 2018, right behind fifth-round pick Marquez Valdez-Scantling.

Through the first three weeks of the season, Moore had just four targets and two carries; while that workload increased to 14 targets and two carries for the Panthers second set of three games, it was only this week against the Ravens, with Torrey Smith out, that Moore saw a higher workload with six targets and two carries – touches that he turned into 129 total yards. So how did the Panthers get Moore more involved with Smith out against the Ravens, and can they continue to do so going forward?

Option Offense

As mentioned in our Ravens preview, the Ravens had struggled against option attacks at times this season, and Norv Turner clearly made a note of that with the Panthers using a lot of option plays to take advantage of the occasionally over-aggressive nature of the Ravens defense; one recipient of that option attack was Moore. The simplest way they got the rookie involved in the option attack was as the toss-option in the Panthers’ standard triple option. Here, they motion Moore into the triple-option and then look to read the two right-most defenders:

 

Newton actually appears to misread this play, as while the edge defender does crash the line, he is actually going for Newton rather than McCaffrey, and so having failed to hand the ball off, Newton is then forced to hurriedly toss the ball to Moore, likely leading to the inaccuracy of the pitch. At this point, the Ravens look to have handled the option well, with the edge defender forcing a misread by Newton and so putting the linebacker in a one-on-one with Moore where he will hopefully get a tackle for a minimal gain. However, Moore does an excellent job of gathering the ball cleanly and has the space and the raw speed to beat the linebacker to the edge for a big gain.

This is the advantage the Panthers get in using Moore in this way rather than McCaffrey, as by having both on the field they force the Ravens to use safeties to defend the inside run while the motion puts a linebacker on the edge against a much faster receiver. The handoff to McCaffrey would likely have been a safer option to pick up the third down in this instance, but Moore certainly did an excellent job of getting the most of the situation he was put in.

The Panthers also used Moore out of what is essentially another triple option. Here, Moore is lined up in the slot and the Ravens chose to keep a safety over the top rather than looking to defend the bunch at the line. This allows Newton to read the outside linebacker in the same way he would have read the edge defender on the previous play, and with the linebacker staying inside to take away the edge, Newton is able to toss the ball out to Moore – who then uses his athleticism to pick up the first down:

 

The Panthers got a bit lucky on this play as if the linebacker had attacked the screen and Newton had handed the ball off to McCaffrey he would likely have got tackled for a loss – Greg Van Roten got completely blown up on his block – but this is a well designed play similar to a lot of what Auburn did to reach the National Champtionship game in 2014. What shouldn’t go unmentioned, however, is what Moore does to add value on this play. While most decent receivers could have picked up five or six yards here, Moore managed to avoid the initial defender without losing momentum and then uses a well-timed change of direction and strength to muscle out a few more yards. The Panthers have done a lot to bring in players who can add value after the catch in recent years, and this play is a good example of why that is important – Rivera has been talking about players like Moore and Curtis Samuel that are “running backs when they get the ball in their hands” – this play was a great example of that trait.

The final way the Panthers got Moore involved through the option attack was through a play the Panthers have run a reasonable amount this season; but guess what – he wasn’t even on the field for this one.

 

Up Next: How Moore Changes Looks Without Being On The Field

Vincent Richardson on Twitter
Vincent Richardson
Managing Editor at Riot Report
Fan of zone coverage, knee bend and running backs running routes. Twitter: @vrichardson444