Enough warmup; Skyy Moore should be on the field more for the Chiefs

Looking at (almost) every snap by the rookie through four games and screaming into the void.

This article on Skyy Moore’s snaps through four games has been unlocked for anyone to read. If you want more content like this, you can subscribe for $12 a year (the price of a single movie ticket gets you a full year’s subscription) forever by clicking the link below. You’ll be able to read an in-depth look on the L’Jarius Sneed Blitz, the Chiefs’ offense being more multiple against Tampa Bay, the Weekly Mahomes film reviews, and a whole lot more in the archives. Hit that button so you don’t miss out!

I’m not going to claim to be objective about Skyy Moore. Or about what traits are desirable for an NFL receiver in my opinion. OR about whether Moore showed those traits in college (he did), and whether that makes me a bit jaded regarding what I think he can do now (it does).

I’m also not going to plead ignorance to the fact that the Chiefs are (smartly) leaning into more heavy personnel with some frequency this season, with two (or even three) tight ends on the field often enough that Jody Fortson and Noah Gray have 198 snaps between the two of them. Finally, I’m not going to act like the presence of veteran receivers doesn’t matter in Andy Reid’s offense, or that it’s not a known thing that rookie receivers take time to fit into his system. I get all of that.

And yet.

Skyy Moore needs to be on the field more.

Through 3 games, the rookie wide receiver has a total of 45 snaps (with 13, 2, 8, and 22 snaps on a week-by-week basis). He has a paltry 3 catches on 5 targets (2 of which weren’t really catchable, but I digress) for 61 yards.

All of this was to be expected, to be sure. Make no mistake, this is the plan, and it always was. Even when Moore played well in the preseason (at least when I looked at his snaps), this was the path. Reid brings young receivers along slowly. Tough system to learn, he wants them to understand each position, etc, etc. My good friend Nate Taylor would tell me to be patient and wait to see what happens down the stretch.

But after going back and looking at every snap by Moore so far this year (barring the 2 against the Chargers. I couldn’t bring myself to sift through a full game to find 2 snaps), I’m more bullish than ever that Moore has a skillset that can help the Chiefs sooner rather than later. Let’s talk about what Moore has shown in his limited chances, and where I think he can help the offense immediately.

The easiest place to start is Moore’s first reception of the year. There are a couple of things worth noting about that play. The first is that Moore is noticeably explosive off the line, and while he doesn’t get good initial separation on his break (the cornerback anticipates the route) he shows that he does have some speed to grab separation over the middle of the field. He doesn’t stop working when Mahomes starts to do ridiculous things, and he creates a viable target on the “second play.”

Further, Moore hauls in a ball that’s a little behind him without breaking stride, showing strong hands and a smoothness in his ball skills (traits that he showed frequently in college) that frees him up for yards after the catch. Finally, he showed some wiggle in space that led to extra yardage.

Moore gained another 10 yards after this moment, when he was surrounded by three Cardinals defenders coming from different angles. One of them was breaking down well, and Moore used a sharp cut to leave him behind and very nearly break free from the other two defenders.

Yes, it’s just one play. But with rookies we’re talking traits and projections. And the sort of ability to haul in a pass that was behind him (no disrespect to Mahomes, who had to basically pull off a miracle to even get the ball to him), maintain speed, and create extra yardage… that stuff matters. It’s demonstrative of the ability to do “plus” stuff besides just make the catch.

The hands are part of what makes me want Moore on the field sooner rather than later. The Chiefs’ receivers have been somewhat inconsistent hauling in passes that are tougher catches, whether they’ve been contested or just requiring an adjustment to the ball. Moore, in the limited shots he’s gotten, has looked comfortable in that area.

There are two things that drew my attention to this play in terms of traits. The first is that Moore shows the same natural smoothness in his route/turn (it’s a simple route, to be fair) that he did in college. The second is that he adjusts to the ball and stretches out to snatch it out of the air despite the risk of a safety coming over the top and laying a big hit. And once again, his ability to maintain speed while making the catch is noticeable.

The problem with trying to gauge Moore’s route running and ability at this point is that we’re dealing with a small sample size AND Reid hasn’t given him a lot of route variety to work with. Generally speaking he’s either running a slant, a crosser at the intermediate level, or a deeper post (the latter two are usually more to try and clear up space for everyone else underneath). Additionally, the games where he saw the most snaps were games where the opponents weren’t trying a lot of aggressive man coverage looks (Tampa rarely lined up in pure man coverage).

That said, there are a few traits to pick up on in a limited sample size. Moore’s burst and quickness off the line stand out when defenders are playing close to the line of scrimmage. Additionally, one can see the same smoothness with his cuts (albeit on mostly fast in-breaking stuff, which is easier) that he showed off in college.

Moore didn’t get the target here (the zone linebacker got good depth to protect against his route), but you can see his ability to keep the cornerback (who is playing zone but does try to get hands on briefly at the line) from slowing down his initial release. Because of his footspeed and burst Moore isn’t touched and is able to get into his route immediately. He then cuts inside with a single planted foot without losing speed, something that’s generally translatable to a variety of routes.

Again, we’re looking for traits here. The route itself is covered due to the scheme on scheme matchup (I’d love to see them layer this look into a corner route), but the raw materials to succeed in other situations stands out. That’s consistent with Moore in limited snaps. Even when it’s a bit harder to differentiate between him and the other receivers pre-snap on all-22, you can tell fairly quickly which one he is based on his quickness and burst off the line.

Moore has also shown, at least a few times, the understanding of how to set up his routes in relation to where the defender is. This is a work in progress, but a good example came on his second catch against Tampa Bay.

Here, Moore is running a whip route that creates space on its own for him. It also helps that Travis Kelce is a terrifying menace that drags defenders with him (and then holds one of them there because he sees where the ball is going to go). The Chiefs are basically running a version of a levels concept (having receivers run at 2 different levels of the defense and forcing defenders to make a choice).

But for Moore’s part, he helps set this route up for success with a bit of savvy by understanding spacing and when to make his cut. Watch the underneath interior defender’s helmet and when Moore choose to cut his route backwards (as Kelce is dragging a defender with him).

Moore doesn’t make his cut back outside immediately as he follows Kelce. Instead, he waits for the underneath defender to glance back at Mahomes. The defender is making an assumption that Moore’s route is going to take him across the middle of the field, a sound assumption as that’s where Reid was sending him most of the evening. That’s the exact assumption a whip route is designed to take advantage of, but it only works if you wait to make the cut at the appropriate time (once the defender takes his eyes off you).

By being patient on this route, Moore sets it up for success. His ability to cut smoothly outside helps, but it’s the “execute the assignment correctly” portion of this that stands out as a rookie. He collects the pass smoothly and starts to work his way up the field, fighting for extra yards and protecting the ball against an attempted rip by Carlton Davis.

I can’t repeat “traits” often enough when talking about such a small sample size, but a young player showing he understands when to make his cuts matters in terms of whether his opportunities should rise.

Moore didn’t have to deal with a lot of physicality on his routes given the nature of them and the coverage he faced, but he’s shown a willingness to fight off contact and run through it or utilize it to push off and away from it.

Here, Moore is facing the rare 1x1 look at the snap, with the defender attempting to catch him on his route and use physicality to hold him up. Moore is snagged momentarily, but does a good job using his right arm to push off the contact while slapping away the right hand of the cornerback to prevent a hold from slowing him as he breaks inside. The results is good separation as the cornerback slips trying to recover. Unfortunately, a quick pressure prevents Mahomes from surveying the field or this could have been a play where they picked up a solid chunk of yardage (we’ve talked about Brown ad nauseum, so I’ll defer that topic for now until the bye week once we’ve seen how it plays out in total).

Moore needs work on working through contact and being sure to set up defenders closer to his break (rather than using too many fakes as he approaches them), but again, the materials are on display.

If you aren’t a subscriber and have read this far I can safely guess that you’ll like everything else we do here. Oh look, it’s that “subscribe for $12 a year button again. How’d that get there?

None of this is to say that Moore has been constantly open when he’s been on the field. The reality is that the nature of the routes he’s been asked to run are mostly looking to clear up space elsewhere OR be open due to scheme. But in limited samples, he’s shown the ability to get himself off the line of scrimmage, deal with physicality on a limited basis (though there’s work to be done there), and understand where he needs to make his cuts in terms of spacing. His smoothness on those cuts and ability to make them without slowing (one of his trademarks in college that made up for his lack of elite speed) is noticeable as well.

The understanding of spacing/etc is one of the areas that makes me think he could get on the field sooner rather than later. He looks ready to take advantage of Kelce’s gravity, and was actually open on the late interception from Mahomes against Tampa Bay.

This isn’t a “pop out” play, but Moore cuts in the right spot and gets himself just beyond the first down marker (and underneath the defender who is dropping to help with Kelce) here. You can actually see him glance at the defender as he starts moving inside and adjusts his route a bit to stay underneath him (while still staying right at the marker).

I cannot hammer this point home enough; This is an incredibly small sample size in both number and variation of what Moore was asked to do. One can’t make a genuine determination about who he is as a player based on it.

And yet.

Traits matter. And Moore, in the small sample size of the preseason and the small sample size of what he’s done so far in the regular season, has flashed traits that should allow him to succeed at this level, and a few traits that make him appear at least somewhat unique among the Chiefs current group of receivers. It would be good to know how those traits look in a larger role, and I’ve always been of the opinion that players develop their best when given reps in-game.

It’s time to take off the training wheels and see what Moore can do in an expanded role. There are snaps to be grabbed there, and given the way he’s grabbed everything else… well, he’s earned at least a shot.