Moore Than a Slot: Skyy Is The Limit for Chiefs' New Receiver
Patrick Mahomes will love the new weapon Veach and Co. got him in the NFL Draft
If you were to create tiers for positions of need entering last week’s NFL Draft, three positions would occupy the top group for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Heading into draft weekend, they badly needed a talent injection at defensive end, cornerback, and wide receiver — both for the short and long term. Sure enough, the first three positions selected were in that first tier.
There were arguments to be made about the order in which these positions should fall off the board. A lot of the buzz surrounding the Chiefs and trades up revolved around a move up for a pass catcher. Instead, it was the last of the three.
The Chiefs navigated the board beautifully to open up their draft. They moved up to secure what they believe to be a blue chip player in a trade up for cornerback Trent McDuffie, sat at 30 and let EDGE George Karlaftis fall to them, and then finally addressed wide receiver.
Sitting at pick 50 with their first pick in day two and several high quality players still on the board, the Chiefs elected to make a small trade back to 54 (recouping pick 158 that allowed them to acquire OT Darian Kinnard). Between 50 and 54, three receivers went off the board — Tyquan Thornton (who the Patriots traded up to 50 for), fan favorite George Pickens, and Alec Pierce.
The Chiefs obviously felt comfortable with several players on the board and were willing to allow receivers to come off before they selected again. They might have ended up with the best of the bunch when it’s all said and done. Brett Veach nabbed Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore with the 54th pick in the draft.
When Tyreek Hill was traded it left holes in an elite offense that needed addressed. The Chiefs won’t be able to replace the totality of what Hill brought to the table, but they can maintain elements in the aggregate. Moore is here to help.
WR Skyy Moore — Western Michigan
5’10” — 195
New Kensington, PA — 9/10/2000
Moore Than a Slot
When you look at Moore’s height you assume that he’s a receiver that will be confined to a clear role in the slot. That shouldn’t be the case.
Moore may be on the shorter side, but he’s well built and dense. He has 10 1/4” inch hands, and adequate arm length (31”) that allow him to play a little bigger than his measurements.
He may not be the tallest but he’s more than capable of running through traffic and winning the ball in the air. That’s not to say he’ll be a jump ball receiver, but he can be competitive in contested catch situations — his body control is outstanding both off his feet and on the ground.
In the clip below you see a lot of elements that should intrigue Chiefs fans — beating press, locating the football, adjusting to the ball, and coming away with the football with strong hands at the catch point.
Moore does a great job of getting off the line of scrimmage. He bets press consistently both releasing outside down the line of scrimmage and snapping off in breaking routes. He has a good understanding of attacking the leverage of a cornerback, getting them on their heels, and breaking off crisp, efficient breaks.
This ability is a huge plus for Moore because it allows him to be moved around in some capacity to any of the positions — X, Z, and F — that the Chiefs would like. He can be on the line of scrimmage, isolated on the back side, tucked into a bunch, sent in motion. He provides flexibility within the confines of the offense — not just a traditional, defined role in the slot.
The Chiefs have remained an RPO (run-pass option) heavy team during Patrick Mahomes’ tenure. From jump street, they utilized Hill on slant routes out of these looks.
The best equipped on the roster to run these now is Moore. He was arguably the best slant runner in the entire draft class. It doesn’t matter if he’s on or off the line of scrimmage, Moore can win on quick, in-breaking routes. What’s more is he’s comfortable and confident working in the middle of the field. His density, strong hands, and toughness display themselves over the middle.
Moore is fearless working over the middle and will give Mahomes a target he can feel good about giving opportunities on what has been a critical element of the Chiefs’ offense over the last few years. The pay off could be significant, as Moore displays the long speed to run away on a slant and turn it into explosive plays.
Moore has shown a lot fluidity in his hips as a route runner. While his route tree was limited in what he was asked to do at Western Michigan, the building blocks are certainly there to advance that route tree. For what he’s been asked, there are few better in the class than Moore.
Against press, his fade and slant ability kept defensive backs off balance. There is plenty more to advance on that vertical plain — and Moore has the speed to legitimately threaten defensive backs at the next level.
The Verdict
The Chiefs played the board beautifully the entirety of draft weekend, and it’s no better exemplified than acquiring Moore after trading back slightly. The Chiefs secured a potential right tackle in moving back slightly, and were still able to get a receiver that fits in well with the current construction of the Chiefs’ offense in the absence of Hill.
Moore can win in a variety of ways and in a variety of areas the Chiefs have had success. His addition is welcome to a group that has a lot of speed across the board. Moore has the toughness, speed, route running upside to develop into an outstanding receiver.
I just hope this doesn't mean a continuance of the volume of RPOs we saw in 2021
You got a hate-like just for the title.
Great breakdown, though.