Player
Elijah Moore
WR · Broncos
Y/R captures depth-of-target — Moore's drop from 12.3 to 9.9 means defenses now respect him as a short-route slot, not a vertical threat. That's why the Browns out-targeted him but kept him under 700 yards.
Four teams in five years: Jets 12.3 yards per catch, 9.89 since.
TrendMoore by season — yards per reception
| Season | Team | G | Rec | Yds | Y/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | NYJ | 11 | 43 | 538 | 12.51 |
| 2022 | NYJ | 14 | 37 | 446 | 12.05 |
| 2023 | CLE | 17 | 61 | 652 | 10.69 |
| 2024 | CLE | 17 | 61 | 538 | 8.82 |
| 2025 | BUF | 9 | 9 | 112 | 12.44 |
| 2025 | DEN | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 |
As a Jet, Moore averaged 12.3 yards per catch on 80 receptions. Since the 2023 trade to Cleveland: 9.89 yards per catch on 132 catches — the role shifted from vertical slot to short-area possession.
The 2025 trail tells the rest: cut by Buffalo after Week 13 (9 games, 17 targets), then signed to Denver's practice squad. He saw one regular-season game in Denver — Week 14 — finishing the year as a postseason call-up.
Yards per reception by season
| Season | Y/R |
|---|---|
| 2021 NYJ | 12.51 |
| 2022 NYJ | 12.05 |
| 2023 CLE | 10.69 |
| 2024 CLE | 8.82 |
| 2025 BUF/DEN | 11.6 |
Why it matters. Y/R captures depth-of-target — Moore's drop from 12.3 to 9.9 means defenses now respect him as a short-route slot, not a vertical threat. That's why the Browns out-targeted him but kept him under 700 yards.
Five 2021 rookie WRs had 5+ TDs. Four added 20+ more. Moore added 4.
Milestone2021 rookie WRs with 5+ TDs — career follow-up
| Player | Rookie TDs | Post-rookie TDs | Post-rookie G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ja'Marr Chase | 14 | 43 | 64 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 6 | 20 | 64 |
| DeVonta Smith | 5 | 28 | 72 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 5 | 40 | 70 |
| Elijah Moore | 5 | 4 | 58 |
Moore's 2021 rookie line — 5 TDs in 11 games as the 34th pick — put him in a five-WR cohort with Ja'Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The other four have 20, 28, 40, and 43 receiving TDs since. Moore has 4 in 58 games. Same rookie shelf, different careers.
Why it matters. Rookie TD totals are a noisy predictor — but a cohort of five rookies with the same TD floor is a clean baseline. Moore's gap (4 vs 20-43) is the kind of separation that signals a usage and role collapse, not a normal post-rookie regression.
Jets era TD rate: 7.5%. Browns/Broncos/Bills era: 2.3%.
SplitMoore TD efficiency by era
| Era | Rec | TD | TD% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jets (2021-22) | 80 | 6 | 7.5% |
| Post-Jets (2023-25) | 132 | 3 | 2.3% |
As a Jet, Moore was a red-zone threat — 6 TDs on 80 catches (7.5% TD rate) including 5 as a rookie. Since the trade to Cleveland: 3 TDs on 132 catches (2.3% TD rate), despite more volume.
The Browns turned him into a possession slot/3rd-down option (61 catches per year, 8.8 yards per reception), not the vertical playmaker the Jets used him as. 2025 in Denver has been worse — 0 TDs on 18 targets.
Why it matters. Reception-to-TD rate captures red-zone trust — a 5pt drop (7.5% → 2.3%) is what happens when a player gets used as a possession outlet instead of a scorer. Moore went from rookie red-zone weapon to short-route filler.
6.2 targets per game in Cleveland. 1.8 in Buffalo. Cut by Week 14.
ComparisonMoore targets per game — last 3 seasons
| Season | Team | G | Tgt | Tgt/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | CLE | 17 | 106 | 6.24 |
| 2024 | CLE | 17 | 102 | 6.00 |
| 2025 | BUF | 9 | 17 | 1.89 |
| 2025 | DEN | 1 | 1 | 1.00 |
In Cleveland Moore was a baseline option — 6.2 and 6.0 targets per game across 2023-24, both full 17-game seasons.
Buffalo signed him in 2025 and gave him 17 targets across 9 games (1.9/g) before cutting him after Week 13. Denver picked him up on the practice squad — 1 target in 1 regular-season game the rest of the year.
Why it matters. Targets-per-game is the cleanest read on a WR's role — Moore's number didn't decline, it collapsed (3x drop in one offseason). That's the difference between a slot starter and a depth body, and the cut-then-practice-squad sequence confirms the role read.
5 TDs as an 11-game rookie — but only 4 in 58 games after that.
AnomalyMoore's rookie year produced 5 receiving TDs in 11 games — a 45.5% rate of scoring per game. The next four seasons combined: 4 TDs in 58 games (6.9% rate).
The 2021 highlight reel made him a sleeper WR1 pick. The reality across 4 more seasons has been steady WR3/4 volume with vanishing scoring — exactly the kind of asymmetric career arc that the early-round WR pool produces more often than people remember.
Why it matters. Rookie TD pace rarely sustains, but a 5-to-4 collapse over the next 58 games is on the extreme tail — it usually signals a role change (vertical to possession) or a scheme that no longer trusts the player in the red zone. Both apply here.
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