Packers: J’Mon Moore shouldn’t be written off just yet

A lot is expected of second-year wide receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown, and for good reason, but there’s another name not to forget for the Green Bay Packers: J’Mon Moore.

Calling Moore‘s rookie season disappointing would be an understatement. Making just two catches for 15 yards, Moore didn’t make an impact when the Green Bay Packers offense needed a wide receiver to step up in the absence of Geronimo Allison.

Valdes-Scantling and St. Brown caught the headlines for their moments of excellence throughout the year, but Moore simply couldn’t get on the field.

Following his rookie season, Moore was open about his disappointing debut year in Packers News, admitting he struggled to adjust to the speed of the game at the NFL level.

“Just the speed of audibles and play-calling, (you) have to know exactly what you have to do, be ready for alarms and things like that,” Moore said, according to Mike Spofford of Packers.com.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the talent and potential to become an important part of the Packers offense, now led by a new play-caller in head coach Matt LaFleur. After all, Moore was selected a round higher than MVS and two ahead of EQ. GM Brian Gutekunst selected Moore in the fourth round for a reason.

“Overall, I came away very pleased with Moore’s tape, and could see him carving out a long, successful career as a boundary receiver in the NFL,” wrote Josh Carney of Steelers Depot ahead of last year’s draft.

And perhaps his slow start to the NFL should have been expected. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote that “Moore is still raw and will need time to expand his knowledge and feel for the position” in his draft profile a year ago.

Moore put up 1,000 yards in each of his final two seasons at Missouri and also had a combined 18 touchdowns in that time.

You know who else took a few years to develop his game? Davante Adams. Stepping into a bigger role in 2015 following Jordy Nelson‘s season-ending knee injury, Adams had just one receiving touchdown all year, leading many Packers fans to call for Jeff Janis to replace him on the depth chart in 2016. In the three years since, Adams has 35 touchdowns and is one of the top receivers in the league.

Is this to say Moore will become the player Adams is? No — but he can still become a key contributor in LaFleur’s offense. A new scheme and system might be just what he needs. With an extra year of experience to adapt to the speed of the game in the NFL, Moore could absolutely make an impact in 2019.

Gutekunst has put a lot of faith in the young receivers on the roster. MVS and EQ both made big plays in 2018 and will look to build on that. But after Moore’s quiet rookie year, he’s slipping under the radar this offseason.

The fourth-round pick has the talent to play an important role in this offense moving forward. With an entirely new coaching staff and offense, the best is yet to come from J’Mon Moore.