The Carolina Panthers decided to move on from Teddy Bridgewater after just one year for a lot of reasons. Near the top of the list had to be his intense struggles in the red zone. Inside the 20, Bridgewater’s decision-making and accuracy both took a serious dive last season. Perhaps no receiver corps suffered more as a result.
According to Pro Football Focus, both D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson had several uncatchable end zone targets in 2020. Moore tied Nelson Agholor for the league lead with six, while Anderson had five.
Bridgewater’s chemistry issues with Moore extended far beyond the goal line, though. PFF says only 77% of Moore’s targets were catchable when he was wide open last year.
While Moore came close, in the end, PFF named Jerry Jeudy of the Broncos the league’s unluckiest wide receiver last year. More bad luck could be on the way for Jeudy. Denver has become the most popular potential trade destination for Bridgewater.
This year, Carolina is betting that Sam Darnold represents a step up over Teddy. Many factors will determine if that’s the case, but if Darnold offers even average ball placement, Moore might just lead the NFL in receiving yards this coming season.
