Drafted with the 49th pick in the second round of the NFL Draft, Rondale Moore has an intriguing profile and enters an intriguing situation in Arizona. His freak athleticism in a somewhat crowded Cardinals’ receiver room both gives him some draft capital and creates numerous questions about what to expect of him in Year 1. Where does the rookie wide receiver fall in the NFL fantasy football rankings? Let’s get into that, and an outlook for his first season in the NFL.
Fantasy Football Player Previews: Rondale Moore
Rondale Moore’s Production Profile
Moore blazed a 4.29 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and 42.5 inches. From a statistical perspective, Moore produced his best season as a true freshman with Purdue, recording 114 catches for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns on 154 targets. This included a 12-catch, 170-yard game against Ohio State. Moore contributed as a rusher and on special teams as well, adding 213 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns on the ground and 1,001 return yards.
Unfortunately, injury would derail Moore’s final two seasons with Purdue. As a sophomore Moore played just four games after suffering a severe hamstring injury. Similarly, Moore’s 2020 season was cut to three games after an undisclosed lower body injury. He still eclipsed 100 yards receiving in three of those seven games, however.
Check out Matt Gajewski’s breakdown of Rondale Moore in the 2021 Fantasy Football rankings and draft cheat sheet for Yahoo, ESPN and CBS leagues.
Will Moore’s Efficiency Translate?
Moore recorded a 36.4% target share with Purdue, equating to an elite 37.2% College Dominator Rating and an 18.2 Breakout Age. In general, College Dominator Ratings near 40% and low Breakout Ages correlate with production at the NFL level. However, Moore’s usage came largely on gadget plays. Moore finished his 2018 season with a 5.5 average depth of target (ADOT) and 892 yards after the catch. While he has a strong ability to make defenders miss, these stats raise questions about Moore’s ability to run a full route tree. Moore also played 91.6% of his snaps in the slot. His athleticism suggests he could play outside, but he has not done it to this point in his career.
2021 Fantasy Football Expectations
This year Moore slides into a wide receiver room containing DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk and A.J. Green. Hopkins finished third in the NFL with 1,407 yards receiving on a 29.4% target share in 2020. Kirk also handled a sizable role, turning a 16.3% target share into 621 yards. With Larry Fitzgerald vacating 72 targets in the slot, Kirk projects to move inside with Hopkins and Green playing the boundaries.
Even with Arizona’s incumbent receivers, Moore still could work his way into a productive rookie year. Arizona led the NFL in four-receiver sets last year. A strong proponent of air raid concepts, Kliff Kingsbury’s offense should again pace the league in four-wide sets. They also let tight end Dan Arnold walk in free agency, changing their player personnel. Moore could simply outplay Green since Green is 33 and had one of the least efficient seasons in 2020. Green caught 47 of 104 targets for just 523 yards, giving him a 45.2% catch rate.
On top of Kingsbury’s affinity for four-wide sets, Arizona plays with one of the NFL’s quickest paces in the league. Last year Arizona ran 67.7 plays per game, which ranked third in the NFL. They also get a healthy Kyler Murray, who suffered a shoulder injury in Week 11. The Cardinals averaged 26.1 points per game with a healthy Murray and 20.5 after the Week 11 injury.
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As for fantasy football, Moore is coming off the board outside the first 10 rounds. Moore’s 135.5 average draft position (ADP) ranks ahead of Kirk (161.9) and Green (181.1) on Arizona and around Nelson Agholor, T.Y. Hilton, and Emmanuel Sanders in the same ADP range. While the Cardinals eight-win total suggests a solid season, Moore still has significant obstacles to consistent production. Moore plays in a crowded receiver room, while the aforementioned receivers all have a clear path to targets. Even a player like Kirk has proven reliable at the NFL level. At this point Moore’s price is simply too rich in fantasy drafts. Taking the savings with a proven player like Kirk in the same offense makes more sense than reaching on Moore at his current ADP.
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