Fantasy Fallout: Elijah Moore Is Free

Fantasy football players have spent the better part of a year clamoring for the Jets to #FreeElijahMoore. On Wednesday, New York finally did it, trading Moore and a third-round pick to the Browns in exchange for a second-round pick. It’s a pretty light return for a 22-year-old who had an inspiring rookie year, but there’s no denying that Moore’s 2022 campaign was a huge disappointment.

The Ole Miss product will have every opportunity to get his career back on track in Cleveland. Let’s dig into what this trade means for fantasy purposes.

ELIJAH MOORE

Old projection: 39.8 catches on 70.8 targets for 502.3 yards and 2.7 TDs

New projection: 46.6 catches on 80.0 targets for 596.4 yards and 3.6 TDs

• Moore’s old projection is from before Mecole Hardman signed, as we were still toggling with his post-Hardman projection when the trade news broke.
• Moore averaged 7.0 targets per game as a rookie, including seven straight games with at least six targets and 31 looks over his final three games. He has flashed the ability to earn targets in the NFL and sported a sterling profile coming out of college. Last year, he managed just 65 targets in 16 games with massive swings in playing time and target-earning ineptitude even when his snap count was high. The question now becomes which Elijah Moore we’ll get in Cleveland (and how much of his struggles were because of Zach Wilson). He should at least immediately usurp David Bell as the Browns’ WR3, but we don’t know how much he’ll play in 2-WR sets. His ADP and our projection will probably be more tied to offseason reports than they are for most players.

• Moore sorely needed a change of scenery, but we can’t fully assume he’ll be back to the player he was as a rookie. Still, we are cautiously optimistic.

OTHER BROWNS PLAYERS

• David Bell failed to separate himself from other Browns WR3 candidates last season and now falls further down the depth chart with the acquisition of Moore. Both players operate mainly from the slot, so Moore’s arrival is bad news for the 2022 second-round pick.
• Moore vs. Donovan Peoples-Jones for WR2 duties will be an interesting battle to watch throughout the summer considering how often the Browns forgo a third WR in favor of a second TE/RB.
• We basically knocked everyone’s target share slightly — including Amari Cooper, David Njoku, and DPJ — to make room for Moore. It’s not a devastating blow for any of them (and Amari and Njoku are likely affected the least as the unquestioned top dog at their respective position), but the addition of another contributor means less volume for everyone else.

OTHER JETS PLAYERS

• I wrote up the Mecole Hardman signing here. Hardman, Allen Lazard, and Corey Davis (who may not be a lock to be on the NYJ Week 1 roster either) will all compete for WR2 duties behind Garrett Wilson.