WHO IS Denarius Moore (OAK/WR)?

He is so smooth, so fluid, and so natural. Denarius Moore is Carson Palmer’s #1 WR in OAK. Who could have ever predicted it? Being a Carson Palmer go-to guy is pretty darn good though. It seems like a long time ago but before there was Ochocinco there was a top 5 WR named Chad Johnson. #85 was another silky smooth WR with modest size who got great separation. Moore has this kind of talent and so far has displayed a much cooler head!

Somehow this training camp gem slipped to the 5th round where Al Davis made one of his last draft day steals. His college stats were a little underwhelming but Denarius was well prepared for playing on Sundays after four years at Tennessee in the SEC. He did come on strong in his senior year registering 981 yards and 9 TDs with a 21 yd/catch avg. The Raiders must have loved his 40 time at the combine, appreciated his versatility in the kick return game, and seen some flashes on tape that demonstrated his upside.

The chatter started early in training camp. Jason Campbell was already making Jacoby Ford comparisons. The beat writers were tweeting daily their “spectacular Denarius Moore catch or play of the day”. Hue Jackson insinuated Moore’s play in practice would dictate playing time in the games. Then we saw it early on in week 2 in Buffalo. Moore had a big day with 146 yards, a touchdown, and 25 yards rushing. When watching the game it was evident Denarius Moore was a high point, strong hands catcher, who could get great separation versus NFL DBs.

There was a mid-season swoon with the Campbell injury and the transition to Carson Palmer. Clearly though, Palmer has quickly developed a penchant for Moore. In his first start coming off the bye, Caron Palmer targeted Denarius Moore a whopping 12 times. Then on Thursday night Moore’s main competition at WR, Jacoby Ford, went down early which opened the door wide for #17 to run right through it. 123 yards and 2 TDs later, after abusing veteran DB Quentin Jammer, it was very clear Denarius Moore has the opportunity to seize #1 WR status in OAK and he looks very capable of doing so. As pointed out by Palmer, in his post game interview on the NFLN set, Denarius Moore can absolutely be “as good as he wants to be.”

What is His Fantasy Football Value?

Great, he has a ton of upside with Palmer slinging it around in a Raiders offense that can flat out score. Moore can make the big play and also generates some special teams production in the punt return game. He is a must start 3rd WR unless you happen to roster Steve Smith, Jeremy Maclin, and Greg Jennings  (it can happen, I’ll show you my team). That said he is also a very solid Flex or #2 WR play. I will be alternating between Moore and Brandon Jacobs in my flex position based on match-up as long as Ahmad Bradshaw is out and this probably sends Percy Harvin to my bench.

Moving forward, I view Denarius Moore in this category of WR: Anquan Boldin, DeSean Jackson, Steve Johnson, Sidney Rice, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, Antonio Brown, Percy Harvin

Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com