Panthers: D.J. Moore leaves mark during first week of OTAs
D.J. Moore is already gathering rave reviews and the Carolina Panthers are just getting started…..
It seems like I am a broken record typing this, but it should come as no surprise. Rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore is turning heads in a major way.
Randy Gurzi of NFL Spin Zone compiled an excellent slideshow detailing one breakout candidate for all 32 teams in the National Football League. For the Carolina Panthers, Moore was the one player to watch. Among other things, Gurzi cites the fact Moore can act like a running back when he catches the ball, with his speed being too much to handle for opposing defenders.
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Gurzi is not the only one who believes Moore can have a big rookie year. Sunday, Stephen Igoe of 247Sports wrote a piece of his own detailing how Moore has made a strong first impression during the opening week of OTAs.
"“They’re taking it slow with those guys (rookies during OTAs) but the one rookie that was really active was D.J. Moore,” team analyst Bryan Strickland said on this week’s podcast on Panthers.com. “I guess that’s not really a surprise with him being a first-round pick. He looked like he belonged out there just like he did in rookie minicamp when of course there was offense versus defense.”"
These are the types of encouraging things you want to hear. It sounds as if Moore is taking it all in stride and not suffering too many jitters. As a rookie, I can’t imagine things going any better for him. The nerves must be starting to subside and he must finally be beginning to feel at home. That being said, there is still a lot of work to be done.
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He figures to be a big part of the offense in the 2018 campaign and may give Cam Newton his first true downfield deep threat in quite a while. The fact that he is already turning heads and it is not even August yet is encouraging. He may very well be one of the biggest steals of this draft class and cap off a tremendous offseason by general manager Marty Hurney.