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By: Nate Christian (@NateNFL)
Skyy Moore
Position: WR
College: Western Michigan
Height: 5’ 10”
Weight: 195lbs
Age: 21
247 Rating: 0.8093 (3 Stars)
The Rundown:
The consensus top small-school prospect for this year’s draft class, Skyy Moore has gone from draftnik sleeper to first round hype in a matter of months. Now he’s getting comparisons to Carolina Panthers legend Steve Smith and rumors have surfaced that the Chiefs could be targeting him as a replacement to Tyreek Hill ($18,000,000). The smoke has been building for the past couple of months, now let’s take a look at the fire.
College Production:
Coming out of high school, Moore was a two-way athlete playing both receiver as well as cornerback. He landed with the Broncos as one of only two FBS offers (the other being Rice). Throughout his Freshman year he would show up with chunk plays and finished with a productive 51 receptions for 802 yards. In a COVID-shortened Sophomore season, Moore averaged 5 receptions and over 70 yards per game, with three touchdowns. In his true breakout Junior season, Moore collected 95 receptions for 1,292 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. In seven of his 12 games, he went for over 100 yards receiving, including a 12/206/4 showing against Northern Illinois in November. From then on he was firmly on the radar of NFL scouts and draftniks.
Strengths:
- Quick After the Catch: Once Moore has the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to gain extra yards all over the field. He’s smooth laterally and has a great burst in his first few steps. He’s a player that teams are going to use often on screens and crossing routes to try and get him in space so he can take advantage.
- Great Off the Line: One of the better releases in class, Moore is not only quick off the line but he’s strong. He’s able to get around press coverage but also quickly take advantage of off coverage. This allows him to get a step on defenders right from the get-go, and often times is the main way he creates separation with his routes.
- Aggressive: Moore plays the game with a swagger that NFL teams like to see from small-school prospects. He’s dedicated and willing to run block and will not shy away from contact once he has the ball in his hands. This aggression also shows up in contested catch situations, where his size limits him, and helps him win his fair share of those 50/50 balls.
Weaknesses:
- Doesn’t Create as much Separation as Expected: The route running exhibited by Moore is impressive, he really checks a lot of boxes with how it all looks and plays out, but for some reason he doesn’t consistently create as much separation as you would expect. This is a concern when playing against MAC defenders, as he should be dominating those cornerbacks and catching the ball with plenty of space between himself and them. Some of these concerns popped up when he played against Michigan and was held to two catches for 22 yards.
- Lacks Long Speed: While exceptionally quick, and we saw that at the combine, Moore isn’t always able to finish off the runs once he gets into space. While this isn’t a huge negative it’s something worth mentioning as he may not always be the one you should expect to take a slant to the house. Pick up 20-30 yards? Sure. But he may not be the one to house it.
Things to Watch:
Skyy Moore had a great combine where he ran an official 4.41 40-Yard Dash and posted a great broad jump. He showed the burst that’s evident on the field and now all that’s left is to see him put on the pads and jump into an NFL training camp. Since Moore is coming from a Group of Five school, there will continue to be question marks about how quickly he can transition to the pros, but Moore seems to be a relatively pro-ready prospect.
Projected Round/Contract:
There is some smoke about Moore being a first-round pick, but I truly believe it’s just smoke. He does seem locked in to the second round though and there are a number of teams that will be interested at that point. With expected draft capital around the early/mid-second round, he could be looking at a four-year deal around $7,000,000 total. If he is put into a role with immediate volume, he’ll be a steal in any Dynasty Owner league.
Team Fits:
We’ve already mentioned the rumors of the Chiefs eyeing up Moore, but honestly, I believe they are looking to switch up their offense a bit with Hill out of the picture. A team that needs a strong slot receiver with YAC ability would be the Indianapolis Colts. Sure, the Colts still say they believe in Parris Campbell ($1,193,984), but they can’t trust him to stay healthy at this point and need an underneath player to compliment Michael Pittman Jr. ($2,153,212). While it may not be the sexiest landing spot for a player like Moore, it makes a lot of sense.
Another team currently in need of replacing their long-time slot receiver, would be the Cleveland Browns. They made a splash at quarterback, but outside of Amari Cooper ($20,000,000), the receiving room is a bit shallow. Moore could fit nicely into that offense as another option in the passing game while offering upside in scramble drill situations, as he does a great job of finding space once the play breaks down.
Make sure to follow Nate Christian over on Twitter at @NateNFL and check out all the work he is doing with the Dynasty Rewind (@DynastyRewind).