Elijah Moore Explained

Elijah Moore
Current Team:Cleveland Browns
Number:8
Position:Wide receiver
Birth Date:27 March 2000
Birth Place:Sunrise, Florida, U.S.
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:180
College:Ole Miss (2018–2020)
Draftyear:2021
Draftround:2
Draftpick:34
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Highlights:
Statseason:2023
Statlabel1:Receptions
Statvalue1:139
Statlabel2:Receiving yards
Statvalue2:1,624
Statlabel3:Receiving touchdowns
Statvalue3:8
Statlabel4:Rushing yards
Statvalue4:70
Statlabel5:Rushing touchdowns
Statvalue5:1
Pfr:M/MoorEl00

Elijah Danilo Moore (born March 27, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss and was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Early life

Moore grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School. As a senior, Moore caught 28 passes for 407 yards and five touchdowns and was named an Under Armour All-American.[1] He was rated a four-star recruit and originally committed to play college football at Georgia over 33 other scholarship offers.[2] Moore changed his commitment to Ole Miss in December of his senior year.[3]

College career

As a true freshman, Moore caught 36 passes for 398 yards and two touchdowns.[4] [5] As a sophomore, he led the Rebels with 67 receptions, 850 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.[6] In the 2019 Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, Moore drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pretending to be a dog urinating in the end zone following the touchdown. As a result, the extra point attempt went from being a 20-yard attempt to a 35-yard attempt, which was missed as Ole Miss lost 21–20.[7] [8] The loss led Ole Miss to fire head coach Matt Luke.[9]

Moore entered his junior season on the watchlist for the Biletnikoff Award.[10] [11] In the season opener against Florida, Moore caught ten passes for 227 yards, the second most in a game in school history.[12] He set a new school record for receiving yards in a game with 238 while also tying the Ole Miss game records for receptions with 14 and touchdown catches with three on October 31, 2020, in a 54–21 win over Vanderbilt.[13] Moore finished the season with a school-record 86 receptions for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games played before opting out before the Rebels' final regular season game in order to begin preparing for the 2021 NFL draft.[14] Moore was named first-team All-SEC and was a consensus first-team All-America selection as well a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.[15]

Collegiate statistics

Ole Miss Rebels
SeasonGPReceiving
Rec Yds Avg TD
201811 36 398 11.1 2
201912 67 850 12.7 6
20208 86 1,193 13.9 8
Career 31 189 2,441 12.9 16

Professional career

New York Jets

Moore was selected by the New York Jets in the second round (34th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft.[16] On July 21, 2021, Moore signed his four-year rookie contract with the Jets, worth $8.94 million.[17]

Moore entered his rookie season as a starting wide receiver. He scored his first career touchdown in a breakout game in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts, recording seven catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns.[18] In Week 11, he had eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.[19] He suffered a quad injury in Week 13 and was placed on injured reserve on December 11, 2021.[20] He finished his rookie season with 43 receptions for 538 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.[21]

On October 20, 2022, Moore requested a trade from the Jets, citing frustration with his lack of involvement in the offense.[22] In the 2022 season, Moore finished with 37 receptions for 446 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 16 games.[23]

Cleveland Browns

On March 22, 2023, Moore and a third round pick were traded to the Cleveland Browns for a second-round pick.[24]

Moore began the 2023 season as the Browns second option at wide receiver behind teammate Amari Cooper. Moore's best performance on the season came on week 17 against his former team the New York Jets where he caught 5 of 6 targets for 61 yards and a receiving touchdown.[25] Moore's week 17 performance was helped by both him and teammate David Njoku receiving an increased target share due to Cooper being listed on the Browns inactive list with a heel injury.[26] Moore finished his 2023 campaign with 59 receptions for 640 yards and 2 touchdowns.[27]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

YearTeamGamesReceivingRushingFumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
NYJ11 6 43 538 12.5 62 5 5 54 10.8 19 1 0 0
NYJ16 9 37 446 12.1 42 1 5 5 1.0 10 0 1 0
CLE17 12 59 640 10.8 42 2 9 11 1.2 19 0 2 2
Career 44 27 139 1,624 11.7 62 8 19 70 3.7 19 1 3 2

Postseason

YearTeamGamesReceivingFumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
CLE1 1 2 12 6.0 7 0 0 0
Career 1 1 2 12 6.0 7 0 0 0

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Johnson . David . December 20, 2017 . 4-Star Moore Flips To Rebels From Georgia . September 27, 2020 . 247Sports.com.
  2. Web site: August 15, 2017 . Speedy Florida WR Elijah Moore commits to Georgia . September 27, 2020 . USA Today.
  3. Web site: Furones . David . December 20, 2017 . Elijah Moore provides Early Signing Period flip at St. Thomas Aquinas . September 27, 2020 . Sun-Sentinel.
  4. Web site: Ripee . Brian . September 10, 2019 . Moore making sure Ole Miss passing game continues to thrive . September 27, 2020 . . Associated Press.
  5. Web site: Spencer . Adam . August 14, 2019 . Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore ready to step up after Rebels lost A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and DaMarkus Lodge to NFL . September 27, 2020 . SaturdaysDownSouth.com.
  6. Web site: Buckley . Clint . June 8, 2020 . Ole Miss' Elijah Moore among top returning slot WR's . September 27, 2020 . 247Sports.com.
  7. Web site: Thamel . Pete . Pete Thamel . November 29, 2019 . All jokes aside, Elijah Moore's 'pee' celebration was an all-time sports blunder . September 27, 2020 . Yahoo Sports.
  8. Web site: VanHaaren . Tom . November 29, 2019 . Ole Miss, WR Elijah Moore apologize for urinating dog celebration . September 27, 2020 . ESPN.com.
  9. Web site: Russo . Ralph . December 1, 2019 . Ole Miss fires coach Matt Luke after 3 seasons, 15-21 record . December 3, 2021 . ABCNews.com.
  10. Web site: Gabler . Nate . July 16, 2020 . Ole Miss' Elijah Moore Lands on Biletnikoff Award Watch List . September 27, 2020 . SI.com.
  11. Web site: Suss . Nick . September 26, 2020 . Elijah Moore: 5 things to know about Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver . September 27, 2020 . The Clarion-Ledger.
  12. Web site: Alford . Parrish . September 26, 2020 . Career day for WR Moore . September 27, 2020 . Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
  13. Web site: Suss . Nick . November 1, 2020 . 'Smooth just like butter': Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore sets records against Vanderbilt . November 16, 2020 . The Clarion-Ledger.
  14. Web site: Cobb . David . December 17, 2020 . Ole Miss star receiver Elijah Moore to forgo senior season after breakout year for the Rebels . January 9, 2021 . CBSSports.com.
  15. Web site: Johnson . David . December 31, 2020 . More All-America honors for Elijah Moore . January 2, 2022 . 247Sports.
  16. Web site: Lange . Randy . April 30, 2021 . Jets, at Top of Round 2, Take 'Dynamic' Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore . May 7, 2021 . NewYorkJets.com . October 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211023084029/https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/elijah-moore-nfl-draft-wide-receiver-ole-miss . dead .
  17. Web site: Levine . Ben . July 21, 2021 . Jets Sign Second-Round WR Elijah Moore . January 2, 2022 . Pro Football Rumors . en-US.
  18. Web site: New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts - November 4th, 2021 . January 2, 2022 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  19. Web site: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets - November 21st, 2021 . January 2, 2022 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  20. Web site: Greenberg . Ethan . December 11, 2021 . Jets Place WR Elijah Moore on IR, Activate CB Brandin Echols Off IR . January 2, 2022 . NewYorkJets.com.
  21. Web site: Elijah Moore 2021 Game Log . February 19, 2023 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  22. Web site: Source: Frustrated Jets WR Elijah Moore requests trade. June 29, 2023. espn.com. en.
  23. Web site: Elijah Moore 2022 Game Log . February 19, 2023 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  24. Web site: Edholm . Eric . March 22, 2023 . Jets trading WR Elijah Moore, third-round pick to Browns for second-round pick . 2023-08-13 . NFL.com.
  25. Web site: Elijah Moore 2023 Stats per Game - NFL . 2024-03-16 . ESPN . en.
  26. Web site: Poisal . Anthony . 2023-12-28 . Browns Week 17 Inactives vs. Jets: Amari Cooper Ruled Out With Heel Injury . 2024-03-16 . Sports Illustrated Cleveland Browns News, Analysis and More . en.
  27. Web site: Elijah Moore - Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver . 2024-03-16 . ESPN . en.