4 major positives from Carolina Panthers trade for Baker Mayfield
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers WR D.J. Moore finally has a QB
There probably wouldn’t have been a happier man when he saw the news of this trade than D.J. Moore. Entering his fifth year, the former Maryland man’s career has been defined by his production despite poor play at the quarterback position.
He arguably has had eight games from a healthy Cam Newton in his rookie season. But since then we’ve seen Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, Will Grier, Teddy Bridgewater, and Sam Darnold distributing the football to Moore.
Hardly the most stellar list.
Despite this, Moore has still produced excellent numbers year after year. In the past three seasons, only two players have totaled over 1,100 receiving yards – Moore and Stefon Diggs.
During that time Diggs – who is arguably the best receiver in the league – has had Josh Allen throwing him the ball. Compare this to the list the Carolina Panthers have churned out under center.
The one criticism of Moore so far has been his touchdown production with 14 scores in four seasons. However, a lot of this can be attributed to the poor play of his quarterbacks, which we’ve seen a lot recently.
This has come to the fore during Matt Rhule’s tenure as head coach. The Panthers have struggled to convert red-zone trips into touchdowns and hampered Moore’s numbers along the way.
While Baker Mayfield is not in the elite category like Allen or Patrick Mahomes, the signal-caller has shown on his day he can play like a top quarterback and this can only help Moore.
It would be no surprise if Moore once again had another 1,000+ yard season. Don’t be surprised if we see the 2018 first-round pick rack up seven or more touchdowns en route to a potential Pro Bowl selection.