2022 NFL Draft prospect profile – Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan

Could and undersized small-school receiver be one of the draft’s biggest risers?

One of the best parts of the whole draft process is seeing unheralded players take advantage of their opportunities. It’s alway fun to watch big-name players do the things that earned them their reputations, but seeing players rise from obscurity to prominence is just plain satisfying.

Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore might wind up being one of the biggest risers in the whole draft. This year’s wide receiving class is much more “to taste” than previous classes and lacks a pace-setting player at the top of the depth chart. That creates an environment for players like Moore establish their cases and capture the imagination of teams.

Moore won’t be for every team, but he’s athletic, versatile, and productive. As of now, we don’t know what kind of receivers the New York Giants will be looking for as they set out on their offensive rebuild.

Moore isn’t imposing, but he could just fit the bill.

Prospect: Skyy Moore (24)

Games Watched: vs. Pittsburgh (2021), vs. Kent State (2021), vs. Northern Illinois (2021), vs. Michigan (2021)

Measurables

Height: 5-foot-10 (listed)
Weight: 195 pounds (listed)

Career Stats

Games Played: 30
Receptions: 170
Yards (YPC): 2,473 (14.5 per catch)
Total Touchdowns: 15

(plus 1 rushing TD on 1 career carry)

2021 Stats

Games Played: 12
Receptions: 94
Yards (YPC): 1,283 (13.6 per catch)
Total Touchdowns: 10

Quick Summary

Best: Explosiveness, route running, hands, competitive toughness
Worst: Size, long speed
Projection: A starting slot receiver in an offense based in spread or air raid principles

Game Tape

(Moore is WR number 24)

Full Report

Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore is an exciting and productive wide receiver prospect.

Moore possesses explosive athleticism with a great quickness, agility, and burst from a standing start as well as in and out of breaks. Moore was aligned at every receiver position in WMU’s offense, playing on both the left and right sides as well as the X, Flanker, and slot alignments.

Moore has a varied set of strategies for his release off the line of scrimmage. He wastes little motion getting into his route when facing off coverage, but does a good job of varying his tempo or using quick stutter-steps to throw off defenders who are aligned on the line of scrimmage. Moore also shows an understanding of how to use his hands to defeat press coverage, swatting away attempted jams to keep his route from being disrupted early.

Moore uses every phase of his routes as a weapon against defenders, from his release to the stem of his route, to his breaks. He does a good job of pressing his stem vertically whenever possible and is usually able to force defenders to abandon their backepedal and flip their hips. Moore has great short-area quickness and agility, and does a good job of dropping hips to cut sharply. He also has great stop-start quickness to further disrupt defenders’ timing and create separation for himself.

Moore has good ball skills to track (and adjust to) passes down the field. Likewise, he is a natural “hands” catcher to pluck the ball out of the air easily and securely.

Moore is heavily involved in WMU’s running game, and is used in a variety of ways. Moore is frequently used in jet motion, both as a ball carrier on sweeps and as a misdirection element on more traditional runs – or play-action. He is also a frequent target of screen passes as the offense schemed ways to get the ball in his hands quickly. Moore is a tough and competitive blocker who shows a good understanding of his duties and how to use his natural leverage to his advantage.

The primary knock on Moore’s game is his lack of size.

He does a good job of creating separation for himself and shows great ball skills down the field. However, he can only expand his catch radius so far and he can be overwhelmed by bigger defensive backs if he isn’t able to create separation earlier in the route. Likewise, while Moore is a very competitive blocker and shows good play strength, he can struggle when trying to block bigger defenders at the second or third levels.

Overall Grade: 7.3

Projection

WMU receiver Skyy Moore projects as a starting slot receiver for a team that primarily plays out of 11-personnel sets and bases their offense on West Coast, Spread, or Air Raid principles.

Moore shows the ability to beat press coverage on the outside at the collegiate level, even against tougher competition. However, he will be facing bigger and more athletic defensive backs at the NFL, and teams might want to play him where he will get more of a cushion.

The single best way to sum up Moore’s game is “sudden”. He is sudden off the line, sudden in and out of his breaks, and sudden with the ball in his hands. At times he seems to simply be playing at a different speed than everyone else on the field, and DBs struggle to keep up. It’s probably fair to question just how fast Moore is down the field, but whatever his top speed is, he reaches it in a hurry. He has enough acceleration to force corners to panic and compromise their technique, which creates a variety of opportunities for Moore.

Moore is a solid technician as a receiver, with good ball skills, solid catch mechanics, strong hands, and good route running. He uses a variety of subtle strategies in his routes, from varying his tempo, to hip fakes, and stutter steps to throw off defenders. His sharp route running can be particularly effective in route combinations designed to scheme separation. Moore’s instant acceleration creates big-play opportunities any time a defender makes a mistake, and schemed traffic can be devastating for a defense when the offense is targeting Moore.

Coaches will also appreciate Moore’s competitive toughness as a ball carrier and a blocker. He doesn’t go down easily after the catch and will routinely fight for every inch he can get. He also doesn’t give in as a blocker and strains to help his teammates pick up every yard they can.