2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: WR Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
WR ELIJAH MOORE
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Class: Junior
School: Ole Miss
Moore attended powerhouse high school St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was a four-star recruit in the 2018 cycle. Moore decided to forgo the final few games of the 2020 season to focus on the NFL Draft.
Head coach Lane Kiffin stated that Moore was dealing with nagging injuries and that it wasn’t an indictment on Moore’s love for the game or program.
A 2020 Biletnikoff and Maxwell award finalist who had a true breakout year in Lane Kiffin’s offense. In just eight games, he had 86 catches for 1193 yards and eight touchdowns.
He was a First Team All-American selection and First Team All-SEC. Moore had 33 offers out of high school and de-committed from Georgia to join Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss.
Notables
At the end of 2019, Moore pulled an Odell Beckham Jr. and pretended to urinate like a dog after scoring a touchdown. Moore had to apologize for the transgression and subsequently had his best season the following year.
Moore finished his time at Ole Miss with 189 catches, 2441 yards, and 16 touchdowns in 31 games.
Traits
A fast, quick, sure-handed wide receiver who is undersized but has a strong foundational build. Used much more as a slot receiver than a boundary one at Ole Miss, but I wouldn’t rule out his outside playing skills. Moore combines speed, suddenness, and acceleration to move so smoothly as a receiver.
Moore comes off the line of scrimmage quickly, chews grass against off coverage, and shows exceptional deceptive ability up his stem.
He uses many head/upper body fakes, combined with impressive bend and body/foot control to manipulate defensive backs and keep them guessing. He didn’t have to face press all that often in college, which could be an issue at the next level.
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Excellent stop/start ability on break routes; explodes in and out of breaks and creates separation very easily with route running and athletic ability. He plants his foot incredibly hard in the ground and explodes in the desired direction.
He is dangerous in open space with the football in his hands. He always has the opportunity to make a big play, and he’s a very good vertical threat, despite his size (vertical ability isn’t only predicated on speed).
Moore has very good hands; they’re strong, yet soft and he easily plucks balls out of the air and secures them into his frame. He does a good job in contested catch situations and can take big hits while securing the football.
He has exceptional concentration and tracking ability; had to often adjust to footballs that were underthrown or misplaced. Body control in the air is also a very good quality that he possesses.
He is a try-hard blocker who lacks pop and finishing ability in the run game. He plays with above-average competitive toughness and wants to succeed as a blocker but is a bit undersized.
He showed good mental processing while route running against zone coverage--he knew when to sit and knew when to adjust the route to maximize play potential.
Overall, Moore is a very good receiver who can excel in the slot but may have outside ability since he plays bigger than his frame. He doesn’t have consistent tape of him beating press, but he moves so well that he is sudden in his movements (even for a receiver), and he’s sure-handed in multiple situations. Moore is going to be a good football player in this league, despite his size.
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