Baltimore Ravens: What we can expect from Chris Moore in 2018
If the 2018 season started today, I could pretty much guarantee that Chris Moore would be on the 53 man roster. What can the Ravens expect from Moore?
Chris Moore has been one of the Baltimore Ravens biggest projects. The purple and black have gotten a fair amount of criticism for not developing players, especially at the wide receiver position. Chris Moore was a fourth round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Moore’s trajectory is fairly typical of a fourth round pick.
He became a special teams stud, which allowed him a chance to earn a living in the NFL. He’s blocked punts, made tackles, scored touchdowns on special teams, returned kicks and even caught passes on fake punts. He does it all for the Ravens special teams units, and the coaching staff has always valued Moore. Despite Moore’s stellar play on special teams, his play as a receiver has been mostly uninspiring.
Moore started to play a lot better at the wide receiver position at the end of the 2017 season. Moore caught a huge touchdown pass in the shootout against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Moore’s 30 yard touchdown reception in Heinz Field was one of three touchdowns Moore scored as a receiver. In the regular season finale, Moore returned a kick inside the red zone and then caught the subsequent pass.
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Chris Moore could be on his way up:
In the second half of the week 17 game, Moore had a ball bounce off his hand into the hands of a Bengals’ defensive back. When this happened, many fans blamed Moore for the costly play. In hind sight, there weren’t a lot of receivers who would catch such a lousy pass. It was clearly way behind him. If you look at Moore’s play throughout the season you have to be impressed. He went from being a liability on the field, to being somebody who could earnestly contribute.
Moore had 12 receptions in the last six games. In weeks 12-14, Moore had three receptions in three straight games. At this point in the season the Ravens were desperate at the wide receiver position and Moore got a chance to be part of the passing attack.
When looking for a model that Moore can follow as he continues to develop, one player that comes to mind is Chris Hogan. Hogan has become a deep threat who makes timely plays for the New England Patriots. Just when you forget about him, that’s when Hogan makes you pay. Hogan is a player whose good for 30-40 receptions a season, a few touchdowns and the plays that he does makes are usually big.
The Bottom Line:
Moore has almost the exact same measurables as Hogan. The end of the 2017 season may have been the start of a really solid career. Moore is entering his third season in the NFL and he has a chance to be a breakout player. He’s never going to be a number one receiver. It’s doubtful that he can be a number two either. However, Moore has a chance to be a solid number three who produces.
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It’s hard to think of a player whose been given more time to grow in Baltimore. Moore has earned that chance with stellar special teams play. It shows you how important special teams is. John Harbaugh has an affinity for special teams that most head coaches don’t because of his time as a special teams coordinator. Look for Moore to have about 30 receptions and 500 yards. It is a reachable goal, and it would be nice to see one of the Ravens’ hardest workers have success.