The Carolina Panthers’ No. 1 wide receiver D.J. Moore has been used in new and interesting ways by offensive coordinator Joe Brady this season. Whereas before Moore was mostly a short and intermediate route runner, this year Moore has become one of the league’s most useful deep targets. While his overall catch rate is down, he’s averaging five more yards per catch than he did in 2019. That’s a reflection of Moore going long far more often than he had previously.
Moore has been very reliable on those plays, as well. He currently leads the NFL with a 62% catch rate on throws of 25 or more air yards, beating out stars like D.K. Metcalf and Davante Adams.
Deep targets are volatile.
Here are the catch rates on targets of 25+ air yards:
1 D.J Moore 62%
2 DK Metcalf 57%
3 Davante Adams 50%
4 Justin Jefferson 50%
5 Tim Patrick 47%
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23 D.J. Chark 15%
24 Darnell Mooney 14%
25 Marquise Brown 13%
26 Tee Higgins 9%
27 A.J. Green 0%— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) December 8, 2020
While this is impressive, it’s also frustrating given what we’ve on seen on tape from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
So far, Bridgewater has lived up to his reputation as a solid, smart passer who takes what the defense gives him and rarely makes mistakes. However, he also doesn’t pressure his opponents vertically much despite throwing a relatively accurate deep ball.
Several times this season, Bridgewater has missed Moore streaking open on long routes. It’s possible Teddy hasn’t seen him, but more likely he just prefers to avoid low-percentage throws. If Bridgewater had really embraced his deep ball from the start, Moore might be leading the league in receiving yards and the Panthers would probably have at least a couple of more wins.
Moore is currently on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. He’s also dealing with an ankle injury.
