Route Running: Skyy Moore destroys press man coverage with his footwork, ability to work blind spots and exploit soft leverage. Eating up the cushion of defensive backs at a consistent rate, Moore quickly accelerates out of his stance and uses a variety of head fakes and subtle movements to get open at a tremendous rate, especially in press man coverage. Fluid hips in and out of his breaks and very controlled at the top of his routes and coming out of his breaks.
Blocking: Moore blocks with an attitude and takes pride in driving his man off the line of scrimmage. More than a handful of times on film, did Moore clear an alley at the second or third level by replacing and cracking safeties and getting the corner to follow him inside. Strong upper body allows him to wall defenders off from getting to the ball carrier, and very impressed with how often he’s in the mix amongst a large pile of bodies.
Contested Catch Ability: There are flashes of playing above the rim with Moore but this is not his calling card, and I don’t think it will be at the NFL level. While Moore has no issues with catching passes over the middle and is fearless catching slants with safeties bearing down on him, when the ball is late or hangs quite a bit, Moore does not come down with the ball at a high rate. Part of it due to his size, part of it due to lack of length to climb the ladder.
Separation: As mentioned in route running, does a great job creating separation even with how basic the route concepts were at Western Michigan. Attacking leverage and keeping his pad level low in and out of routes, Moore created a great deal of separation, especially in press man alignments. He did it from both the slot and as an outside receiver as well.
Ball Skills: A handful of drops on film, Moore has reliable hands and holds on to the football in RAC situations as well. High pointing passes on vertical routes, Moore shows some above the rim ability and catches the ball away from his body when defenders are bearing down on him, but there are times he allows the ball to come into his body.
Beating Press: Absolutely kills press man coverage. Moore used a variety of releases, from delayed releases to stemming at the top of his route, as well as utilizing stutter steps. Using violent hands to get hands off of him and knows how to hit defensive backs blind spots.
YAC: Plays with tremendous strength for his size but don’t think he’s a game breaking talent. Creates extra yardage in short spaces and can break arm tackles, run through soft tackling but he seems more like a chunk yardage wide receiver versus a flat out dynamic athlete. He can make players miss one on one but I don’t think he’s outrunning angles down the sideline once he’s in the open field.
Ball Tracking: Think this is an area of improvement for Moore. While he made a variety of plays down the field, there were more than a few times where Moore slowed down as the ball was arriving down the field on vertical routes and mistimes late hands which left room for more big plays on his film.
Long Speed: Ran an excellent time at the combine and I think he has fantastic initial long speed but I don’t think Moore has that extra gear with the ball in his hands. More quick than fast with the ball, Moore flashes elusiveness on the perimeter and can pierce a defense for chunk gains over the middle of the field but he doesn’t strike me as a game breaker.
Versatility: Can play inside out and operated extremely well from the boundary as a single receiver. Although he faced limited zone coverage in college due to RPO based offense, Moore did a great job finding soft spots in zone coverage, especially on slant routes and was effective all over the field.
Summary: After two years of modest production in his first two years with Western Michigan, wide receiver Skyy Moore burst on the scene in 2021 with 95 catches, nearly 1,300 yards receiving and 10 scores as a junior. Using his excellent footwork and straight line speed to attack leverage, Moore crushed press man coverage and created an exorbitant amount of separation to operate over the middle of the field. Showing inside, out versatility, Moore may not have an ultimate trump card compared to other top receivers in this class, his floor is a productive receiver who has the upside of becoming the second or third option in an offense. He best fits in a scheme that utilizes him in the shallow boundary to create one on one opportunities on the backside of a formation, while being used as a slot receiver as well. He may not have that second gear to be a dominant, explosive receiver, his route running is so good that he has the opportunity to be an immediate contributor early on in his NFL career.
Filed By: Devin Jackson, MAC and MWC Scout
Twitter: @RealD_Jackson
