David Bell
Time Will Tell, of Course! In 2022, the fans needed patience, and it paid off in the end, with Skyy Moore scoring his first NFL TD in the Super Bowl. You can see the exuberance on his face after crossing the goal line.
The question becomes: How Big was the payoff?
The disconcerting thing about Moore is that the Chiefs may have piled on too much work for a rookie, namely the Punt return focus. The muffed plays probably set Skyy back mentally and emotionally. At least, that is my judgment about his 2022 season. He was another newcomer with the need to ingest Andy Reid’s playbook. The setback would not have affected his opportunities to get snaps as a WR, Per Se. However, the problem with the return game apparently did affect him. His confidence level dropped. This forced the coaching staff to reduce their expectations and his “Spot” snaps. The bottom line is that it apparently affected Moore more than we fans would have hoped. Reality can be a booger. I also contend that he had several WRs who were in front of him in the pecking order. For 2023 two of those players have departed.
Remember! I do not know if the above observation is true, but it makes much sense. We can all say that we should have expected more of Moore, but the fact is, it didn’t pan out, at least as much as we would have anticipated. At this point, and with the Super Bowl finale in consideration, I’d say that we are looking for a massive payoff in 2023. The Super Bowl TD may have been the event of the 2022 season that helps Skyy Moore turn the corner.
2022 Stats
- Receptions: 22
- Yards: 250
- TDs: 1
- Fumbles: 3, Fumbles lost 3*
* = stat that indicates Skyy Moore’s setback
.
My expectation is that the TD in the Super Bowl has already aided Moore in 2023. The reports out of Chiefs indicate that in the OTAs and the mini-camp inform us that he is indeed performing at a high level. See the video segment of that TD, here:
.
.
The fact is, Moore is a proven commodity out of college.
Moore had a stellar Senior season at Western Michigan to end his collegiate career. Those numbers were the reason why Brett Veach selected Moore with the 2022 2nd-round draft pick.
Moore’s Western Michigan NCAA Final Season Stats
- 94 Receptions
- 1,283 receiving yards
- 10 touchdowns
.
The above numbers tell me the truth: Skyy Moore is a very capable receiver. At this point, he would appear to me to be the #3 WR going into Training Camp. At no point did I see Skyy Moore as a replacement for Ty Hill’s skillset and speed. However, he fits in so many categories that his “Year Two” should prove Veach’s reasoning when he selected Moore in the 2022 draft.
2023 News
In a recent article written by Vahe Gregorian and published in the Bellville New-Democrat, he observes about Skyy: “It was all in the demeanor and even aura of Moore. Which resonated all the more because he seldom, if ever, projected such ease during a first season spent largely gridlocked by the density of the Chiefs playbook — made all the more challenging while being asked to play multiple positions — and at times downcast over three fumbled punt returns”.
Gregorian’s logic matches my own view.
My Bottom Line?
If HC Andy Reid Expects Skyy Moore to step up to another level this season, who am I to argue? Reid observed in March: “
Speaking with NFL Network’s Steve Wyche at the Annual League Meeting on Saturday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid opened up about who he expects to have a bigger role after wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman left in free agency.
“We are expecting Skyy Moore to step up…We’ll just see how everything else works. We got the same guys coming back that we had, and we like that group with the exception of JuJu. Mecole was banged up a little bit so he didn’t have a chance to play as much as he would have wanted. We’ll work out the thing without JuJu. Somebody will have to step up and take that spot”.
The second in this series of articles was about Kadarius Toney. This is the 3rd article in the series. My expectations of the WR group have climbed incrementally since the draft. Jordan Schultz (TheScore) is buying into the expectation for both Toney and Moore. He lists them in his 10 candidate WRs who will have breakout seasons in 2023. I am buying into that myself. He wrote:
“Two-for-one here. Both Toney and Moore made massive contributions during the Chiefs’ 38-35 Super Bowl victory over Philly, showcasing their dynamic playmaking ability (Moore caught a TD and Toney flipped the game as a punt returner). The truth is, I loved Moore as a three-time All-MAC pick out of Western Michigan. He’s the ideal weapon for Patrick Mahomes because of how easily you can move him around. He can play the slot, he can play outside, and he can line up in the backfield.
And I can say the same for Toney, whose prowess at stopping on a dime can make even the league’s best defenders look silly. With JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman Jr. departing in free agency, Kansas City would love for one of these young receivers to assume a larger role in 2023, and I believe both will”.
The various commentators, observers, and analysts surrounding the Chiefs Kingdom unanimously felt that Skyy Moore had made significant progress as a receiver among the many players present. If these first-hand observers believe Moore will Breakout in 2023, I will bank on it as a predicate for the 2023 season.
.
David Bell — ArrowheadOne
.