Bears WR D.J. Moore struggled in his debut vs. the Packers, recording only 2 catches on as many targets for 25 yards. Teammate Darnell Mooney led the team with 7 targets, 4 catches, and 53 yards, along with a receiving TD. It’s bizarre that Moore saw such little volume, considering three different Bears (Mooney, TE Cole Kmet, RB Roschon Johnson) saw 7 targets in the Week 1 loss. Moore’s totals are even more puzzling when realizing that his new QB, Justin Fields, attempted 37 passes, two fewer than his career-high of 39 (2021 Week 15). Hopefully, the veteran can regroup in Week 2 vs. a Buccaneers defense that surrendered the second-most passing yards (344) in the NFL on Sunday. We'll chalk this one up to the occasional bad luck game for now.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune shared details on the health of Bears WR Darnell Mooney. Recall that he suffered multiple torn ligaments in his left ankle last November. “From what I hear, Mooney is doing well and there is a chance he will be fully cleared before the conclusion of the offseason program, which ends with mandatory minicamp in mid-June,” Biggs said. “If not, it’s expected he will be at full speed for the start of training camp.” Good to know. Mooney, the WR58 in FFPC best ball ADP, is set to enter a contract season. The 25-year-old watched as Chicago added D.J. Moore and Round 4 WR Tyler Scott this offseason. See where Mooney slots in our updated 2023 WR rankings.
The Bears selected Cincinnati WR Tyler Scott in Round 4 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Scott played RB in high school – and it shows. He’s excellent with the ball in his hands, combining vision, contact balance, and burst to average 6.6 yards after the catch per reception last year. He also has the speed to win deep, confirmed by a 4.44-second 40 time at the Combine. Scott is a raw prospect with just 1 season of big college production and plenty of work to do in the route-running department. But he has just three years of experience at WR and is only 21, so he should have more room for improvement than your typical rookie receiver. At 5’10 and 177 pounds, he’s likely destined for the slot as a pro. But he can be a dangerous after-catch weapon with seam-stretching ability from the inside. This isn’t a great landing spot for Scott on the run-heavy Bears. He figures to open the season behind at least D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool. Consider Scott more of a dynasty stash than redraft factor.
The Bears agreed to a trade sending the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft to the Panthers in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2023, the 61st pick in 2023, two future picks, and WR D.J. Moore. There's certainly a lot to take in here. GM Ryan Poles managing to swing a high-end WR in Moore to go with QB Justin Fields is a tremendous boost for the team's future. Any doubts surrounding Fields and his cast of receivers are gone, solidifying his status as a top-end dynasty QB. There's got to be bad news for someone here, though. Between this move and the deadline deal that brought WR Chase Claypool over from the Steelers, it's hard to imagine a ton of fantasy upside for WR Darnell Mooney in this offense now. TE Cole Kmet also loses some value now that he seems doomed to be stuck between third or fourth in the pecking order for targets. As far as the Panthers are concerned, this is a significant investment made into finally solving their QB woes. Going up to number one enables the franchise to put an end to exploring retread experiments as they tried with QBs Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. New HC Frank Reich will have his pick of a young signal-caller to build toward the future with. One of either Alabama QB Bryce Young or Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud feels like a natural fit to plug in right away to a pro-style offense. Unfortunately, without Moore in the mix, this Panthers' offense is devoid of weapons for whoever ends up under center. It's tough to say right now who, if anyone, emerges from this Panthers' offense as a fantasy contributor. Free agency and the NFL Draft in April will help color in those missing pieces of information. Keep up with our coverage here at Draft Sharks as the offseason continues to unfold.
The Panthers named Thomas Brown their new OC. The 36-year-old spent the past 3 seasons working under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, serving as RBs coach and then TEs coach. He bounced around the college ranks prior to that, with his only OC experience coming at Miami from 2016 to 2018. Those offenses finished just 54th, 60th and then 105th in total yards per game. The first 2 were pass-centric attacks, while the 3rd shifted toward the run. Brown will be working under offensive-minded HC Frank Reich in Carolina. We'll see who ends up calling the plays. There's a good chance that Brown is working with a rookie QB in 2023. The Panthers hold the 9th overall pick of this spring's draft and only have QBs Matt Corral and Jacob Eason on the roster currently.
The Panthers are hiring Frank Reich as their next HC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Reich was fired by the Colts in November after getting off to a 3-5-1 start. But he went 37-28 across his first 4 seasons in Indianapolis, despite losing QB Andrew Luck just prior to the start of the 2019 campaign. Three of those 4 Colts teams finished top 9 in points; 2 of them ranked top 10 in total yards. Prior to arriving in Indianapolis, Reich spent 4 seasons as an OC -- 2 with the Chargers and 2 with the Eagles. Reich's offense was middling in his 1st season in both stops but improved to finish top 9 in yards in year 2. We'll see how Reich fills out his new staff, but this is a rock-solid hire for Carolina. The Panthers, of course, still need to find an answer at QB after cycling through Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker this past season. Mayfield is now with the Rams, while neither Darnold nor Walker is currently signed for 2023.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore caught 6 balls for 117 yards and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. Carolina pumped its passing volume way up, attempting 37 throws after topping out at 24 attempts across QB Sam Darnold's 1st 4 starts this season. Moore still accounted for 27% of targets, 26% of receptions and 34.3% of receiving yards. He'll be a fairly easy play against the Saints for leagues that play through Week 18.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore entered Sunday's game questionable with an ankle sprain but finished as the offense's lone bright spot. He caught 5 of 6 targets for 73 yards and Carolina's only TD in the loss to the Steelers. Moore should be a solid-to-good fantasy option against the Lions in Week 16 and Buccaneers in Week 17.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Steelers. He was downgraded to limited participation on Friday after putting in full workouts the previous 2 days. It’s safe to assume Moore won’t be at 100% today, adding risk to his fantasy profile.
The Panthers expect WR D.J. Moore (ankle) to play against the Steelers today. Moore opened the week with a pair of full practices after hurting the ankle last Sunday, but he finished with a limited Friday. Between that and Carolina's desire to keep the passing volume low, there's risk to playing Moore today. That's reflected in our Week 15 fantasy football rankings.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore (ankle) is expected to play vs. the Steelers on Sunday, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Moore put in full practices on Wednesday and Thursday but was limited on Friday and listed as questionable. It's fair to assume he won't be at 100% tomorrow. See where Moore sits in the Week 15 WR Rankings.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Steelers. He put in full practices on Wednesday and Thursday but was limited on Friday. "It's not so much of a setback,” HC Steve Wilks said of the Friday downgrade. “It's really just trying to see whether or not he's gonna be able to sustain and be efficient with what we're asking him to do." Between the ankle and a run-heavy offense piloted by Sam Darnold, Moore is a shaky Week 15 fantasy play.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore (ankle) was a full-go in Wednesday's practice. So he'll be available for this weekend's game vs. the Steelers. But Moore looks like a shaky WR3 with Carolina going super run-heavy under QB Sam Darnold.
Search
