The third season is when many promising NFL wide receivers really figure things out and start to blossom, so we were expecting big things from Panthers wideout D.J. Moore this year. While Moore has had some excellent catches and strong games, he hasn’t been able to settle into a lasting rhythm with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as of yet.
After posting three consecutive games of 93 receiving yards, it looked like Moore had finally found that consistent connection. Things have slowed down for No. 12 lately, though. Over the last two weeks Moore has totaled just four catches and 73 yards. He was only targeted three times in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.
Moore doesn’t think he’s in a slump, though. During his Zoom call with the media on Thursday, he said it’s a product of the ball being passed around more.
DJ Moore asked a couple questions about lack of catches as of late, but points to number of playmakers on the Panthers offense: "I wouldn't call it a slump. I would call it the ball being passed around more."
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) November 12, 2020
Bridgewater has been spreading the ball around well all year. Lately, Curtis Samuel has seen his role grow the most. Sunday he posted his first career 100-yard game, which seems absurd given his talent. It goes to show how overdue Samuel was to earn more opportunities.
Robby Anderson, Christian McCaffrey and Mike Davis are also key pieces for this offense. That’s a lot of mouths to feed, so Moore isn’t always going to get a lot of attention.
Some people have pointed out that Bridgewater has missed Moore streaking open a few times lately. The truth is that it’s a two-way street.
Bridgewater can stand to trust his deep ball more often, both with Moore and everybody else. Moore could also probably help his case by gaining more separation consistently. Bridgewater usually avoids throwing into tight windows and that’s what he’s had to work with for Moore, who is only gaining 2.3 yards of separation on average, according to Next Gen Stats.
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