Rondale Moore

Moore was a polarizing prospect in 2021, coming out of Purdue with 1,915 receiving yards and 248 rushing yards in 20 games, with a 4.29 40 and 42.5-inch broad jump from his pro day. If he were even 5-10, he'd have been a no-brainer first-round pick. At 5-7, 180, the Cardinals scooped him up 49th overall. As a rookie, Moore essentially was used as a screen-pass specialist, with his 1.4 aDOT unheard of for a WR. He had 54 receptions and 18 carries in 14 games, but averaged only 8.1 YPR and 4.2 YPC. Coach Kliff Kingsbury expanded things somewhat in Year 2, with Moore averaging 5.9 catches for 59.1 yards on 8.0 targets (5.5 aDOT) in his first seven games before a groin/abdomen injury knocked him out the rest of the year. He'd previously missed time with a hamstring injury and told reporters in February that he'd undergone surgeries on both sides of his groin as well as his pinky finger. None of that should keep Moore sidelined for training camp, but he has other issues to contend with in his age-23 season, including the possibility of Colt McCoy playing QB while Kyler Murray rehabs an ACL tear.

Moore was an unusual prospect last year, at only 5-7, 180, but with credentials that otherwise looked like those of an early first-round pick (4.28 40, 42.5-inch vertical; 95.8 receiving YPG, 12.4 rushing YPG in college). The Cardinals took him 49th overall, and likely believed they'd gotten away with theft after Moore had 182 yards and a touchdown in his first two games. But those two games ended up being his two best receiving totals of the season, and he's still in search of his second NFL touchdown. Moore finished the year with 64 targets, 18 carries, 21 punt returns and 13 kick returns, with nearly as many return yards (462) as scrimmage yards (511). He handled a unique role with an average target depth of only 1.4 yards — close to where Deebo Samuel landed in 2020 — and finished first among wide receivers in catch rate and last in yards per catch. If nothing else, Moore should get more playing time early in the year while DeAndre Hopkins serves a six-game suspension, though new acquisition Marquise Brown likely will see more targets than the departed Christian Kirk. A breakout for Moore requires an awful lot of jet-sweeps and screen passes, or else some kind of plan where his 4.28 speed is put to use beyond the line of scrimmage.

The 49th overall pick in this year's draft, Moore is an explosive athlete — 4.31 40-speed, 126-inch broad jump, 42.5-inch vertical on a 5-7, 181-pound frame. He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands and even did damage in college as a rusher. The knock on Moore is he wasn’t asked to run many intermediate or deep routes, and he missed all but seven games the last two seasons with injuries. In Arizona, he’ll have to contend with high-volume target DeAndre Hopkins, and, to a lesser extent Christian Kirk and A.J. Green, but Moore’s skill set is unique to this team, and he should see extra work on gadget plays and even take some handoffs.