Part 3: Weaknesses
Did he "lose the magic"? This sometimes happens in football. There was a RB a few years ago who was fantastic as a freshman. He looked like a future 1st round pick. Then he got hurt. After his injury, he played more like a late round to UDFA player. He ended up being a 3rd round pick. His NFL form is better than the "injured" version his final year in college but he's never been able to recapture the best version he had as a freshman. He doesn't have the same speed or power, he's just an average, ordinary RB today. Enough to be on an NFL roster, but not a potential Pro Bowler like it seemed he was destined to become. Maybe this will happen to Moore and he'll always be a "what might have been" player.
Across the board, from top speed, explosion, short area agility, route tempo, release moves, breaks, YAC, COD moves, ability to separate nothing was as good in 2025. He was a shadow of his former self.
Even if Moore was playing through injury in 2025, it doesn't in any way excuse some of his lapses. He has some alarming red flags that aren't related to whether he can run fast.
Sometimes he displays very poor football IQ. It is a 3 WR set to the right, Moore is the outside WR. The pass is going to the stacked slot WR. The outside CB is playing off and as the ball is being snapped that CB backpedals. It is a tunnel screen, so after catching the ball, the slot WR is supposed to run towards the middle of the field, into the lane created by the OL going to the 2nd level. Isn't it obvious what Moore should do? The outside CB isn't remotely close to the action, he's not a threat to the play. Moore has plenty of time and space to block the slot CB but he's completely clueless and falls asleep at the wheel. The slot CB attacks upfield, 100% unblocked. Moore realizes his mistake but sees that it is too late to block the slot CB, so he turns back towards the outside CB and takes a bad angle, ending up blocking nobody. Meanwhile, the slot CB tackles the slot WR, limiting it to a 1-yard gain.
Clemson is running a mesh concept with shallow crossers. As Moore comes off the LOS, no DB on his side runs with him. Moore sees the other WR running his route from the other side of the field and has plenty of time and space to prepare. Inexplicably, Moore runs directly into his teammate instead of adjusting his angle to either go in front or behind him.
Pre-snap and post-snap both show basic cover 2 zone. WR runs his curl route at an angle such that as he comes out of the break the zone LB is standing directly between the WR and the QB, making it impossible for the QB to target him with a pass. Realizing the issue, WR after pausing repositions himself towards the middle of the field, but by this point the timing of the play is all messed up.
Moore didn't play hard in 2025, he was a low energy guy on the field. Poor blocking effort, lazy, let up early. Got flung to the ground by the CB as he eased up early. His blocking angle was almost always wrong, regardless of how minimal the effort it would have taken for him to get in the way of the CB. Some plays, his effort was almost literally zero on blocks, he just let the CB run by him without lifting a finger. No hustle, no want to, seemed disinterested, lacking in competitive spirit.
Very weak hand placements, doesn't properly use his length to secure blocks, allows the CB to disengage too quickly and too easily.
While Moore has good route running athleticism and tools, some of his routes aren't well crafted. Particularly on slants, he sometimes allows the CB to read him like a book and run the route with him, with the CB blanketing him, ready to challenge the catch point.
On some contested passes downfield, Moore doesn't jump for the ball and high point it; he allows the pass to drop to him. Other plays, he has poorly timed reactions to the ball, just reaching for the ball instead of jumping for it, or not having his hands catch ready. Sometimes commits potential offensive PI trying to position himself for the pass. On comebacks, doesn't always take proper angle back towards the QB to protect the catch point from the CB, hurting his contested catch success rate.
His stats included quite a few WR screens.
I'm not a fan of Moore's personality. He's a mellow, laid back individual. Tends to talk about himself instead of being team oriented. Room to mature and grow, become more professional. Needs to be more detail oriented with his preparation and execution on the field. I want to see him embrace the dirty work and try to be a complete WR to help his team win games, lead by example, be more accountable.
Appears to be shorter than his listed height. Doesn't have a thick build. While he has good length, he doesn't have elite arm length.
