Getty Image / Nick Cammett
Heading into the 2022 NFL season, Elijah Moore was one of the football world’s favorite breakout candidates.
Instead, he ended up being one of the season’s biggest disappointments.
Moore struggled throughout the season, only going over 50 yards once in the first 6 weeks of the season and ended up requesting a trade after he didn’t receive a single target in Week 6.
He was made inactive the following week and then when he returned, he was targeted just once in two weeks.
Despite his lack of usage, Moore didn’t get his trade during the season and he continued to struggle for the rest of the year, going over 2 catches jut twice in the last 8 weeks of the season.
Luckily, he was finally traded this offseason in a deal that sent him to the Cleveland Browns along with a 3rd round pick in exchange for a 2nd rounder.
Moore spoke to the media yesterday after practice and revealed that he feels wanted with the Browns.
The No. 1 thing about Deshaun Watson that new #Browns WR Elijah Moore has learned so far https://t.co/dGNtw16aU8
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) May 24, 2023
“Yeah, man, to hear that positivity, as far as speaking on my name, I can’t do anything but feel blessed to be in the opportunity that I’m in right at this moment,” he said via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “Feels good to be wanted and it’s going to make any player, any human, go harder when you feel like that and you feel like you’re around people who want you to be here. So I’m going to give it all I got every single day.”
Whether the issue was actually that the Jets didn’t want him last season or that Zach Wilson was just a really bad quarterback, things will certainly be different for Elijah Moore with the Cleveland Browns.
He is getting a massive upgrade at quarterback and is joining an offense that is likely to have a big uptick in available targets next season.
Maybe that will lead to the breakout season fans were expecting a year ago.