Elijah Moore flashed the elite talent everybody noticed in training camp over the past two games.
With Jets’ No. 1 receiver Corey Davis out the last two weeks with a hip injury, the rookie stepped up. He had 13 catches on 14 targets for 151 yards with two touchdowns against the Bengals and Colts. That’s a 93% catch rate and has averaged 3.3 yards of separation, according to Next Gen Stats.
Moore also had the eighth-most receiving yards in the NFL and was second in touchdowns, during the two week span.
It’s a small sample size, but it represents baby steps. Rookies need patience as they develop. Moore is slowly starting to come into his own and the light bulb is starting to flicker.
There were suggestions that Moore should play more in the slot because that was his natural position coming out of Ole Miss. But over the last two weeks, he’s caught 10 passes on 10 targets for 138 yards with two touchdowns from the outside.
Moore’s production was minimal with the Jets offense struggling to start. Through his first five games he had 79 yards receiving. It was baffling considering how dominant he was during training camp.
But it wasn’t all Moore’s fault, sometimes his connection with Zach Wilson was slightly off in timing. And sometimes, Wilson just missed him on reads, which is normal for a rookie quarterback.
There were moments when Moore would make a catch down the field but it got called back because of a penalty. Moore also could have started the season with a 60-yard bang against the Panthers, but he couldn’t corral the deep bomb from Wilson. And there haven’t been many plays designed for him, either.
He also missed the Titans game after suffering a concussion against the Broncos.
But give credit to backup quarterbacks Mike White and Josh Johnson for feeding Moore, and to the Jets offensive coordinator, who called more opportunities for Moore on the rock.
On Moore’s first touchdown catch against the Colts, Mike LaFleur drew up a great play call for the rookie to produce and White executed.
They were in 11 personnel (three receivers and one tight end) in a condensed splits set in shotgun with Moore at the outside spot and Jamison Crowder in the slot. White said the Colts were in a two-high cover, two defensive coverage.
They ran a “stick nod” concept. Moore ran a wheel route and Crowder had a post route.
White focused on Xavier Rhodes because Colts safety Andrew Sendejo was going to be occupied with Crowder running a post over the middle.
So when Rhodes peeked at Crowder for a split second too long, Moore was able to sneak behind him for a touchdown. That explained why Moore was wide open for the score.
It was a great call for that defensive look.
LaFleur should have designed more plays for Moore earlier, because the film always revealed Moore as consistently open and the entire unit just needed to execute those opportunities. Fortunately for the Jets, it’s been happening the past two weeks.
Now it’s on Moore to build on this progression.
