Fantasy football: Where to draft Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore

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Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore was part of a giant trade from the Carolina Panthers this past offseason, helping his former organization scoot up for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Moore gets a chance to reinvent himself in the Windy City while working with an up-and-coming QB.

Moore was WR1 during his time in Charlotte, and that role isn’t going to change now that he is plying his trade in Chitown. And the early indications are that he and new QB Justin Fields are on the same page and have developed quite the rapport during training camp and limited dealings during preseason games. It appears heading into Week 1 that the duo will hit the ground running…err, hit the air running? Well, you know what I mean.

The great news for Moore is that Fields is an obvious upgrade over the dumpster fire QBs that Carolina used last season, from Baker Mayfield to Sam Darnold to P.J. Walker, etc. Yuck. Moore should see a nice bump, as Fields develops with a legitimate WR1.

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DJ Moore’s ADP: 52.93

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Moore has been going off the board as early as the latter part of Round 4, while mostly falling into Round 5 in redraft leagues. That’s amazing value for a WR1, especially on a team with a budding star under center. I’d gladly take Moore as a WR2 in fantasy leagues of 12 or more teams, and if you can use him as a flex option, or WR3, that would be amazing.

Among wide receivers, Moore’s ADP in redraft leagues is 22nd, behind the Cleveland Browns’ Amari Cooper (41.97), the Green Bay Packers’ Christian Watson (48.07) and the Tennessee Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins (48.82). Moore is being picked ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ pass-catching duo of Chris Godwin (56.58) and Mike Evans (61.20) and the Atlanta Falcons’ Drake London (60.64).

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DJ Moore’s 2022 stats (Panthers)

Games: 17

Receptions | targets: 63 | 118

Receiving yards: 888

Receiving touchdowns: 7

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Where should you draft Moore?

The good news for Moore last season is that he had 7 scoring grabs, which was easily a career high. He has found the end zone at least 4 times in each of his past 4 NFL campaigns, and there is no reason to believe that streak won’t continue in 2023.

The bad news for Moore is that he had had at least 1,157 receiving yards in his previous 3 campaigns prior to 2022, but again, the drop in production was due to personnel issues under center in Charlotte, shoddy coaching early in the season under Matt Rhule, and more of a ground-based approach in the 2nd half of the season.

Moore is a fantasy stud, and he has extremely consistent. He’ll average anywhere from 15-18 yards per receptions, most likely, and Fields has to be thrilled to finally have a legitimate WR1 at his disposal.

Drafting Moore in Round 4 or 5 is prudent in PPR leagues, especially if you can somehow get him as a WR3 or flex option. In standard redraft leagues, he is a decent WR2 worth taking in Round 5 or after. Moore is the top pass-catcher in Chitown, and there is little challenge to that role. He’ll have north of 130-150 targets, barring any kind of injury to derail him. I’d much rather have Moore than Hopkins or Watson, who are in less favorable QB situations.

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