Schrager Sends Moore to Packers in Mock Draft That Falls Short
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers haven’t had a legit slot receiver since Randall Cobb was rolling in the mid-2010s, and they haven’t even attempted to fill that role since he signed with Dallas in 2019.
NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, who had one of the most accurate mock drafts last year, attempted to fill that spot with Mississippi receiver Elijah Moore.
“Moore’s incredible three-game finish to his college career opened a lot of eyes (39 catches, 602 yards, 5 TDs). He’s a late-first-, early-second-round prospect who could find himself making big plays for a Super Bowl competitor as early as next year,” Schrager wrote in his mock draft.
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Moore is a superb player. In 2020, he caught 86-of-101 passes (85 percent) for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, ranked fourth in the nation with 61 catches for 888 yards in the slot, fifth with 11 contested catches overall, and sixth with 18 forced missed tackles. Moreover, he dropped only two passes.
However, he’s probably not even on Green Bay’s draft board. In the 16 drafts conducted by Ted Thompson and Brian Gutekunst, the Packers haven’t drafted any receiver shorter than 5-foot-10. Cobb, in fact, was the shortest at 5-foot-10 1/4. Even the undrafted free agents the team has brought in have been over that threshold.
Moore measured 5-foot-9 1/2 at the Ole Miss pro day.
Now, there is one asterisk worth mentioning. Gutekunst did sign veteran Tavon Austin late last season. Austin measured only 5-foot-8 1/2 at the Scouting Combine in 2013. So, perhaps, there is some wiggle room for the right player. With five receptions in four games, Austin was the first Packers receiver shorter than 5-foot-10 to catch a pass since Mark Clayton (5-foot-9) in 1993.
