3 things to watch for in Preseason Week 1

The play of D.J. Moore

I’ve hyped Moore plenty, many have seen his college highlights. Now, we will see what the Maryland product is truly made of. Being a rookie of course, he will probably see a bit more action than some of his counterparts. Currently, he is No. 2 behind Torrey Smith on the team’s unofficial depth chart.

I am most interested in seeing two things. First, how fast can he run after the catch and secondly, how quickly can he gain separation? The book on him is that he runs very well after the catch and that he is a nightmare for defenders. We have seen tremendous plays at the defense’s expense throughout camp and now, he will go up against the opposition.

Tre’Davious White and Phillip Gaines will not make his life easy and White in particular has really blossomed into one of the game’s top corners. He is more than capable of locking down Moore, so that will be fun to watch as well.

I would not be shocked if I saw jitters on his part. However, if he can make a good first impression, that would go a long way. It is important to keep in mind too that probably the majority of balls thrown to him will come from the backup quarterbacks. This may be good from a viewer’s perspective as he may have to show off his tremendous vertical.

Although it will likely be a very subdued version of Moore due to the fact that it is the first preseason game, it will be interesting to see how he does in his first-ever National Football League action.