When the Buffalo Bills traded for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore, there was plenty of uncertainty about whether he could still perform at an elite level. Moore is entering his ninth year in the league and is coming off an underwhelming season with Chicago. He recorded only 682 yards and six touchdowns.
Moore’s struggles last season led many people to believe he was in decline. However, the trade to Buffalo is exactly what Moore needed to rejuvenate his career.
DJ Moore Finally Gets Elite Quarterback Play
The primary reason Moore will see more success this season is his new MVP quarterback, Josh Allen. Throughout his career, Moore has had to deal with poor quarterback play but has still succeeded.
In his first season with the Bears, Moore was catching balls from journeymen quarterbacks Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent, but still put up 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns — a career best. If Moore was able to put up those numbers with inconsistent quarterback play, the potential for an even bigger season with an MVP at quarterback is hard to ignore.
Even though his stats have declined the past two seasons, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to improve with Allen as his QB. Allen has been known to make the players around him better.
For example, in his first four seasons with Allen as his quarterback, Gabe Davis scored 27 touchdowns. When he left Buffalo to join the Jacksonville Jaguars, he only recorded 239 yards and two touchdowns.
Allen is the perfect quarterback to bring Moore back to his old self.
Moore and Allen’s Budding Connection
In their short time together in training camp, Allen and Moore have already created a connection. They have already been seen connecting on many targets, including multiple deep balls. Head coach and playcaller Joe Brady should be leaning on that early chemistry and look to get Moore involved early in the season.
Allen hasn’t had a reliable go-to target since Stefon Diggs was traded to the Texans a few seasons back.
The early connection on deep balls is also promising — something that Buffalo’s offense has been missing for a while. Allen wasn’t taking shots downfield because he didn’t have a receiver that could uncover consistently at that part of the game. Expect the Bills to bring the deep ball back into the game plan, which will power both Allen and Moore to success.
Another reason Moore will have a career season in Buffalo is simply the wide receiver room. Players like Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman won’t give Moore much competition for targets.
They will get their fair share of targets, but not enough to take away from Moore.
In his time in Chicago, Moore was splitting targets with Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland. In Buffalo, Moore is going to be the number one guy, as his talent and connection with Allen is already better than anyone else’s. Joining the Bills’ receiver room will give him way more opportunities to succeed.
Moore’s regression the past few seasons was nothing but a fluke, and his arrival in Buffalo will prove that.
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