Green Bay Packers receiver J’Mon Moore is getting a second chance at a rookie season.
Unable to consistently catch the football in August and unable to pass fellow rookies Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown for playing time in 2018, Moore often languished as the final receiver on the team’s depth chart, playing only 74 total snaps on offense and catching only two passes as a rookie.
The experiences of a redshirt first season and a new playcaller with a new playbook should combine to give Moore a second chance at a first impression. Call it a mulligan on his rookie year.
“I feel like a fresh start to something that I’m familiar with,” Moore told PackersNews.com. “But just a new beginning. I’ve got a year under my belt so I know what to expect with what the expectations are, but it’s a fresh start, clean slate. It’s a clean slate for everybody, which is the best feeling. Especially for me. It’s just another opportunity. A lot of people don’t get that.”
Opportunity and ability can be a splendid combination for a young player, and Moore isn’t lacking in ability. He’s 6-3 and 207 pounds, with a 38″ vertical leap and a 6.56-second finish in the three-cone drill, suggesting a unique combination of size, explosiveness and short-area quickness – three hugely important traits for a receiver.
But none of those traits matter if a receiver can’t consistently make catches or doesn’t know the ins and outs of the playbook. A quarterback like Aaron Rodgers can’t trust an unreliable receiver, and a coach can’t play a receiver the quarterback doesn’t trust.
Moore has work to do to erase the errors of his rookie season. But few players from the Packers’ 2018 draft class have a better opportunity to enjoy the fabled second-year jump in 2019 than Moore, especially considering the opportunities likely to be available at receiver in Matt LaFleur’s new offense.
A new coach with a new scheme and a new staff might just provide a leveling effect at the position. And it’s Moore who could benefit the most from a fresh start.
It’s early, but Rodgers is already taking notice of No. 82. After practice Tuesday, Rodgers specifically mentioned Moore as a player who had made several big plays down the field early on at offseason practices.
Maybe it will all translate to a breakout second season for the Packers’ highest-drafted receiver since 2015. Maybe not. But Moore couldn’t ask for much more – especially in terms of opportunity – after a lost rookie season.
