D.J. Moore is a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers. Moore was born in Philadelphia and played high school football for Imhotep Charter. He attended the University of Maryland from 2015 to 2017. Moore amassed impressive college stats including 2,027 receiving yards for the Terrapins, the 6th most in school history. He also scored 17 touchdowns. Stefon Diggs, who left school a year before Moore arrived, managed more yards but three fewer scores. Moore was a truly dominant college performer. He possesses a 98th-percentile College Dominator Rating of 53.3-percent and a 100th-percentile Target Share of 43.6 percent. He was also dominant early, with a 97th-percentile Breakout Age of 18.4.
DJ Moore added impressive workout metrics entering the 2018 NFL Draft. He clocked an 88th-percentile 40-time of 4.42, rendering an 89th-percentile Speed Score. Moore also displayed exceptional burst and agility while boasting a wingspan of 10.22 (89th-percentile). His hand size was just 9-inches (20th-percentile). The Panthers selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, with the 24th overall selection.
Moore played less than 70-percent of the offensive snaps as a rookie while commanding a 15.1-percent Target Share. 406 of his 788 receiving yards came after the catch, No. 12 in the league that season. He also had only two drops. Moore's Snap Share and Target Share both jumped in 2019. He played 92.4-percent of snaps and saw 24.3-percent of the targets on a Carolina team that attempted the second-most passes in the league. Moore logged the first of three 1,000-yard seasons and finished with 1,175 yards, the 10th most among wide receivers. His Target Share was 24.6-percent the next season (2020), but the Panthers dialed back the pass attempts. Moore was No.30 among receivers with 66 receptions and No.9 with 1,193 receiving yards in 2020, thanks to an 18.1 yards per reception average.
In 2021, Moore finished with 93 receptions for 1,157 yards on 572 routes run, but led all wide receivers with 11 drops. He also suffered, as he has throughout much of his early career, from inaccurate quarterback play. His Catchable Target Rate was 71.6, No.76 in the league, and his Target Quality Rating (4.80) was No.79. It was a case of what might have been for Moore, who finished No. 4 with 901 Unrealized Air Yards. He saw only 19 Deep Balls, which makes the unrealized yards all the more concerning, as most of his targets were in the short to intermediate areas of the field.
Moore’s production took a step back in 2022. Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and PJ Walker split quarterback duties in Carolina and Moore failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since his rookie season. Moore also had a 48.0-percent (No. 1) Air Yards Share and another 820 (No. 7) Unrealized Air Yards. He is still an elite target-earner with four straight seasons of over 100 targets and now heads to Chicago to play with Justin Fields. Expect Moore to be Fields’ top target in a low-volume, yet exciting offense in Chicago.
