As soon as he saw the North Carolina area code pop up on his phone, he knew.
Even though the Panthers had told DJ Moore when he visited the team last month that they would be interested in drafting him, even though Moore “lit it up for them” during his Maryland Pro Day, even though he had played to the best of his ability in college, breaking the school’s single-season record for receptions in his junior year, he didn’t really know he was going to be drafted until an unknown number popped up on his phone.
And all of a sudden, Moore was a Carolina Panther – the first wide receiver taken in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The moment we welcomed Moore to the family #PanthersDraft pic.twitter.com/T4hN22R1Ld
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 27, 2018
The team has said since the beginning of the offseason that they wanted to surround Cam Newton with weapons, and they’ve added another big one on the first day of the draft, one that doesn’t necessarily need to catch deep passes to make big plays; when asked what were his strengths, Moore had his answer at the ready.
“I would say run after the catch, right off the bat,” Moore said breathlessly via phone call after being selected by the Panthers. “An exciting player – I’m just going to bring something new to the game every week, so it’s going to be something to look out for. At the same time, you’re going to get a hard worker and somebody that is going to know the game plan and be ready to go week in and week out.”
With the 24th pick in the draft, the Panthers added a wide receiver to an already crowded room by drafting DJ Moore from Maryland in the hopes that Moore can provide an additional tool in Cam Newton’s toolbox – the team has certainly worked to remake the wideout group since Hurney’s arrival last July, trading Kelvin Benjamin at the 2017 trade deadline which allowed Devin Funchess to blossom as the team’s #1 wide receiver to the tune of 30 catches for 455 yards and five touchdowns over the second half of the season even while playing with a bum shoulder. The team is hopeful that second-year wideout Curtis Samuel will be healthy enough to contribute after the 2017 second round pick only played in nine games and appeared to be upping his production before a broken ankle with ligament damage ended his season in Week 10. With newcomers Torrey Smith and Jarius Wright joining Damiere Byrd and Russell Shepard on the roster, a team that was forced to start former practice squad players in their first-round playoff loss to the Saints will likely not encounter that problem this season.
Photo Credit: John Gutierrez-USA TODAY Sports.
Moore exploded his last season at Maryland, racking up 80 catches for over 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns, averaging 12.9 yards per grab, lower than his career average in three years in the Big Ten (13.9) – Moore set the Maryland single-season record for receptions despite catching passes from four different quarterbacks during his junior campaign. The 6’0, 211-pounder oozes big play potential to go along with excellent hands. His ability after the catch is clearly one of the things that new offensive coordinator Norv Turner will be chomping at the bit to make use of – both he and wide receivers coach Lance Taylor attended Moore’s Pro Day.
Moore racked up the accolades during his special 2017 campaign: 2017 Big Ten Receiver of the Year, 2017 First Team All-Big Ten, 2017 Second Team All-American and the highest rated wide receiver in the Big Ten according to Pro Football Focus, but ultimately, it was his size and ability to run after the catch that caused him to be chosen over the other players the team was considering, which included wide receiver Calvin Ridley and tight end Hayden Hurst.
“We had a group of guys there,” said GM Marty Hurney about his new wide receiver. “DJ, he’s got speed, good play strength, excellent run after the catch. He’s a weapon. We’d said we wanted to add speed and we wanted to add athleticism and we wanted to add weapons. He was one of the guys we really didn’t think was going to get to us, but we did and we’re lucky he did.”
“He’s 210 pounds, he’s excellent [at] run after the catch, he’s a little bigger; he’s still very explosive – we just thought that his athleticism and his run after the catch is elite.”
Analyst Vincent Richardson had more to say about his greatest strength in Moore’s Scout Camp Profile ahead of the draft:
“While receivers shouldn’t be drafted based on their ability after the catch, Moore’s ability to pick up yards from the catch is impressive; once again, this adds to his potential value as an NFL prospect. As a runner in the open field, he shows an elusiveness that has drawn comparisons to Saints’ rookie Alvin Kamara; while the tackling in the NFL will likely be better, the ability to add yards to completions or to be a threat in the screen game just further adds to Moore’s value.”
Head Coach Ron Rivera believes that Moore can contribute immediately with the ability to play all three wide receiver positions (Rivera specifically mentioned the Z and the F) and perhaps a chance to contribute in the return game as well.
“His position value for us is that he’s a very smart young man, very bright; he picks things up very quickly and can regurgitate those things right back to you. His position flexibility is going to really add to what we want to do and really be a big part of it,” said Rivera. “I’m excited about who he can be for us.”
Quarterback Cam Newton also weighed in on the pick, sending a text to Rivera in his signature font after the Panthers added another weapon for him on the outside.
“•thànkŸÖÜ•”
