Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore had about as bad of a rookie season as anyone could’ve imagined. With the Chiefs’ WR depth chart even shallower this season, can Moore take a large step forward and emerge into one of this team’s top two receivers? What is his fantasy football projection?
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Skyy Moore’s 2023 Fantasy Projection
I really, really liked Moore as a prospect. He’s a good athlete who was incredibly dominant at college. He was an early declare from a small school, which is not something you see very often, but it’s definitely a positive. With second-round draft capital and an ideal landing spot, the stage was set for Moore to matter right away.
Outside of the truly elite prospects like Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, we typically see rookie receivers meander for the first half of the season, only to close the season strong as they acclimate to the NFL. That’s what I and many others expected from Moore last season.
After all, Moore landed in Kansas City with the best quarterback to ever play, a very climbable depth chart without a true WR1, and only one receiver even worthy of being a WR2 in JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Bad rookie-year production is a major red flag when it comes to a receiver’s long-term outlook. Had Moore landed anywhere and commanded just 33 targets, catching 22 for 250 yards and no touchdowns, it would be an ominous sign.
For Moore to play with Patrick Mahomes on a roster with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman as the two guys in front of him yet fail to even jump Justin Watson on the depth chart is a scathing indictment of Moore as a prospect.
Moore was unable to earn as much as a 50% snap share in a single game. Even when Hardman got hurt and missed half the season, Moore did not see an increase in playing time. He ran a route on just 24% of the Chiefs’ passing plays.
Should You Draft Skyy Moore This Year?
The Chiefs’ top five receivers are currently Kadarius Toney, MVS, Moore, Richie James, and rookie Rashee Rice. Somehow, the competition is even weaker now than it was last season. Once again, you can’t ask for an easier depth chart for Moore to climb.
I just can’t do it. Moore recorded just 250 receiving yards as a rookie. As a blanket rule, if you take every Day 1 or Day 2 rookie receiver who doesn’t reach 500 receiving yards and throw them out, you will be correct over 90% of the time. Statistically, there’s just no reason to buy into Moore.
With that said, outliers do exist, and I did like Moore as a prospect. However, it’s important to remember that NFL production trumps college production. We now have a year of NFL data on Moore, and it’s not good.
The silver lining is Moore’s WR55, No. 151 overall ADP is actually quite reasonable. If you want to take a shot on him being the outlier, the opportunity cost in fantasy football drafts is minimal.
Moore is currently my WR67. As mentioned, he didn’t reach 500 receiving yards as a rookie, and therefore, I’m out. If he ends up being the outlier, I’ll have no qualms about missing out, but Moore will not be on any of my fantasy teams this season.