Arizona Cardinals WR Greg Dortch Relegated to Bench Role
Through three weeks of the NFL season, only 11 players in the league had more receptions than Greg Dortch of the Arizona Cardinals. The former Wake Forest receiver had caught 20 of the 23 passes thrown his way, and turned them into 198 yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals receiving core was depleted to start the season, which opened the door for Dortch to take on an every-down role. Star DeAndre Hopkins still hasn’t played yet; he’s suspended through Week 6 because of a failed drug test. 5'7", 185 pound Rondale Moore, the team's 2021 second round pick, was out with a knee injury. Plus, their man slot man last season, Christian Kirk, signed a four-year 84 million dollar contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Moore was lined up to replace Kirk start the season in the slot, but his inability to play thrust Dortch into an important spot.
The 5'7", 175 pound Dortch filled in admirably in Moore’s absence, flashing the steady hands and shiftiness that made him a fan favorite in Winston-Salem. His impressive start to the season, which includes a 9 catch 80 yard performance against the defending Super Bowl Champs, begged the question of what his involvement would be once the wide receiver room returned to full health.
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“Dortch has stepped in and performed as well as we could’ve hoped," head coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Sep. 28. "It’ll be nice to have [Rondale] back and find a way to utilize all of those guys”.
Moore returned to the lineup in Week 4, and it's become clear that as long as he's healthy, he will dominate the snaps from the slot. In Week 4, he was out there for 86% of the team’s offensive plays, which bumped up to 91% on Sunday. In his season debut, Moore was quiet and caught only three passes for 11 yards. But Moore assumed Dortch-like volume this Sunday, turning eight targets into seven catches and 68 yards.
Dortch was downgraded to 27 snaps in Moore's Week 4 return, catching his one target for six yards. This week, he wasn’t targeted on the two offensive snaps he played.
Fantasy football experts pointed to Dortch thriving in Kingsbury’s system in the first three weeks as a reason to be excited about Moore’s potential. His draft pedigree and talent profile is heavy and quarterback Kyler Murray clearly likes to pepper his slot man with targets.
Kingsbury and the Cardinals are clearly big fans of Moore, as they make a concerted effort to use him as a gadget player and manufacture touches for him. However, that type of usage hasn’t been effective so far. He’s gotten blown up a few times on these jet actions.
Moore made noise as an explosive playmaker at Purdue, making an immediate impact for Arizona as a rookie. Moore caught 54 balls for 435 yards and a touchdown last year, adding 76 yards on the ground.
Throwing two very undersized receivers out on the field at the same time is unprecedented stuff in the NFL, and it’s become clear Kingsbury isn’t comfortable putting both 5'7" guys out there simultaneously. He also doesn't seem interested in rotating Dortch in when he has his number one guy available. Dortch will remain in a reserve role for the time being, but the former Deac will still be part of the action, as he serves as the team’s punt returner. He already has 54 punt return yards this year, with a long of 18 yards.
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On Sunday, he returned one punt for 10 yards, which kickstarted the Cardinals first touchdown drive of the game when they were trailing 14-0.
Dortch has had quite the NFL journey. The 24-year old went undrafted in 2019, and bounced around between the Jets, Panthers, Rams, Falcons before finding a home with the Arizona Cardinals last season.
The main reason that Dortch was able to garner those opportunities was because of his value as a punt returner. But when he's had the chance to be a receiver he's shown that he can succeed in that phase of the game as well.
While the surprising statistical production was fleeting, Dortch did everything he could with his opportunity, and proved that he belongs in the NFL.
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