Patriots: Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore on the rise and a fit with team

Elijah Moore is the next wide receiver to come out of the ever-growing wide receiver university that is Ole Miss. Following the draft stocks of D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown. With the New England Patriots in the market for a new wide receiver, he could be a target in the 2021 NFL Draft.

While I don’t think Moore is either of them, I think he is more a hybrid like some of the other top guys in our current draft. What he lacks in size he makes up for in elusiveness, good hands, and athleticism. He stands 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, which is about on par for this crop of wide receivers.

Elijah Moore is not getting enough talk about being one of the top-five wide receivers in this year’s draft, after an eight-game scorching of the SEC in 2020 where he compiled 86 catches for 1,193 yards, eight touchdowns, and a 13 yard per catch average.

Looking at the game of Moore

Moore had three 200+ receiving yard games last year one of which was a 225 receiving yard and two touchdown game against South Carolina. South Carolina currently has two defensive backs in the top-75 players of this year’s draft, and one could be drafted in the first round.

However, Moore is not without his drawbacks. His route running is very raw and tends to round off a lot of routes or avoid getting close to the defender rather than pushing him back. Like most athletic smaller wide receivers he has a tendency to turn outside and try and run around, rather than stick his foot in the ground and push upfield. Also, he doesn’t come back to the ball and fight for it as often as he should on short routes, or curls.

Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network gives his breakdown of Moore:

"“NFL teams are always in the market for dynamic receivers, and at the end of the day, that’s what Elijah Moore is. He’ll probably have to be relegated to the slot on most of his snaps because his short arms won’t help him against press coverage. But Moore has legitimate game-changing ability with his speed, explosiveness, and elusiveness. On top of that, he’s also an excellent route-runner, a scary run-after-catch threat, and a receiver who can haul in passes amidst contact.”"

His game is still really solid, and could easily see his stock rise. He shows good vertical on tape and I will bet his measurables at the pro-day will affect his stock for the better or worse.

Where could Patriots land Elijah Moore?

Right now he seems slated for the mid-second round, but this could adjust to the top of the second round, or even slide to the late-second. I don’t think he goes in the first round, nor do I think he slides out of the second round. A lot of where he goes will depend on the wide receiver run in the first round, if we only see four wide receivers in the first round, we could see a log jam at the position in the second round, and the Patriots could be in the market for one of them.

There are a lot of upsides to Moore who only played 31 games in college, still needs some time and experience. I think he has the upside of a solid number one wide receiver at the next level, with the floor being a slot, and gadget player. His best fit at the next level is with the Patriots, with his likely projection coming in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.