The 2023 fantasy football season is here, meaning now is the time to dive into Arizona Cardinals WR Rondale Moore’s 2023 fantasy projections to determine whether or not managers are getting a value on draft day. Is Moore ready to become the WR2 for the Cardinals in 2023, and should he be a player you draft this year?
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Rondale Moore’s 2023 Fantasy Projection
Despite his diminutive stature and aDOT, Moore had a significant impact when on the field last season. After a relatively non-productive first year, in his seven full games in 2022, Moore was solid, with a 22.7% target share and recorded 1.62 yards per route run.
Moore averaged 12.6 PPR points per game, which would’ve been good enough for WR32 over the entire season. Unfortunately, he was placed on season-ending IR last year due to a groin injury. That said, it is impressive that Moore could produce WR3 weeks despite having an aDOT of 5.3, outside the top 100.
However, 2023 is anything but simple when trying to establish what Moore will mean for fantasy football. For one, Kyler Murray is still recovering from a late-season torn ACL.
He underwent surgery on Jan. 3 to repair it and is not expected to be ready for the season opener. The Cardinals have not offered any clues as to where Murray is in his rehab. That means we’re looking at Colt McCoy or Clayton Tune leading the charge for a decent portion of the season.
The Absence of Hopkins Opens up the Target Opportunities for Moore in 2023
At the same time, Moore moved up a spot in the pecking order by doing nothing. Following what felt like months of speculation, the Cardinals released former All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins missed the first six games of the season due to suspension and the final two games with a knee sprain, but when on the field, he was the WR9 in points per game with a 29.4% target share (fourth-best) and a 43.5% air-yard share (second-best).
This leaves a massive hole in the Cardinals’ receiving room, but it’s expected that Hollywood Brown will assume the No. 1 role. Last season, Brown averaged nearly 12.3 half-PPR points in the eight games without Hopkins (WR15).
Moore will be the No. 2, followed by rookie Michael Wilson from Stanford, who brings the only semblance of size (6’2″) to the smallest wide receiver room in the NFL. That’s especially so when we consider Greg Dortch, who did see success last year but primarily as a “break glass in case of emergencies” player when there were injuries above him.
Moore was one of my favorite players to watch in his draft class due to how electric he was with the ball in his hands, and we may get to see that again in 2023.
If Moore can maximize his opportunities, he’s certainly a name worth considering this season, with current projections slating the third-year receiver to haul in 65-72 receptions on 100 targets for 750 yards and three touchdowns. Moore will record a few rushing attempts as well, but they will not be consistent enough to impact his fantasy football upside in 2023.
Should You Draft Rondale Moore This Year?
In fantasy football, wide receivers rule the world, as they arguably have the highest ceiling of any non-QB out there. But not all receivers should be treated the same on a per-touch basis.
The upside of someone like Moore is drastically muted compared to guys like Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson, who could lead the league in air yards.
It’s also why you don’t see Moore going early in drafts. Using a composite of sites for a more representative look at the current ADP, Moore is being selected as the WR60 off the board with an ADP 175, which places Moore as a mid-14th-round selection in 12-team formats.
Moore is being drafted as the Cardinals’ WR2, nearly 90 spots behind Brown in ADP (87). Meanwhile, guys like Wilson and Dortch aren’t even being drafted in most leagues, even though Wilson is one of my sneaky final-round dart throws this year.
Ideally, Moore is best served in a full-PPR format where his projected reception volume can help balance his low aDOT and per-touch upside. Kliff Kingsbury is no longer in Arizona, so there’s every opportunity we could see Moore move away from just around the line of scrimmage and into the intermediate areas of the field. He just needs the ball in his hands.
Given where he’s going in drafts, Moore is pure upside, though he is not someone I would want to start as I’m not overly confident in the Cardinals’ offense, especially early in the season.
While I don’t mind taking shots on Brown or James Conner at their ADPs, I feel more confident in what their expected role will be than compared to Moore, who was not a draft pick of this regime.
As a WR6, Moore’s an interesting player to target in the mid-round for your bench to watch and see what happens. If he starts going off, you can either start him or flip him for another player if you think Wilson could push him down the line for the No. 2 job or his play is too inconsistent to trust.
This is the best opportunity Moore has had coming into a season to capitalize on his athletic upside. If he doesn’t do it now, I don’t know if fantasy football managers will give him another shot to be trusted in drafts again.