2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Skyy Moore

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NAME: Skyy Moore

POSITION: Wide Receiver

SCHOOL: Western Michigan

HEIGHT: 5’9”

WEIGHT: 195 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Skyy Moore attended Shady Side Academy. Outside of football, he was a star point guard on the basketball team. Moore earned all section honors during his junior and senior seasons of high school basketball. On the football field, Moore played both quarterback and defensive back. He would go on to total 100 touchdowns and 3,500 yards for his career.

Twice, he was named all-conference for both offense and defense. Moore also became the first player in conference history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Furthermore, he was named Allegheny Conference Defensive Player of the Year once and Allegheny Conference Offensive Player of the Year two total times. Moore eventually chose to play college football at Western Michigan.

Position Switch

After joining the Western Michigan program, the Broncos converted him to a wide receiver. It did not take Moore very long to become acclimated as a pass catcher. He played in all 13 games, while starting in 12 total contests. Moore would go on to finish with 51 receptions, 802 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns and had a yards per reception average of 15.73 yards.

He was among the leaders in his position inside the MAC. Among those in the conference, Moore finished fourth in receiving yards per game, fourth in receiving yards, ninth in yards per reception and was tied for tenth in receptions per game. To boot, he led all MAC freshmen in receiving yards, receptions and receptions per game in that true freshman season of 2019. Moore was named first-team All-MAC for 2019 as well.

2020 was a limited season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This forced Western Michigan to play only six games. Additionally, Moore saw his role get jumbled around, because of the shortened season. He would appear in five of six games, registering 25 receptions, 388 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns and had a yards per reception average of 15.52 yards.

Out On A High Note

Once the calendar flipped to 2021, Moore was able to return to a starting role and absolutely dominated for the Western Michigan offense. He set single season career bests in receptions (95), receiving yards (1,292) and receiving touchdowns (10). Moore also tallied a yards per reception average of 13.6 yards. In the matchup against Northern Illinois, he tied a school record with four touchdown receptions in a single game. Greg Jennings vs Ball State in 2005 and Jayden Reed vs Miami (Ohio) in 2018 were the others that had previously recorded four touchdown catches in a single game for Western Michigan. For the second time total, Moore was named first-team All-MAC for 2021.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Route Running

For a somewhat smaller frame, Moore is in consistent attack mode as a route runner. This allows him to eat up the defender’s cushion at a rapid pace. At the same time, Moore is quite violent when it comes to his cuts, steps and how he gets in and out of breaks. That is not to say that he does not have any patience in his route running either. Simply, Moore displays tremendous body control and change of direction skills to make smooth transitions. The range in his play speed allows him to sell the route to the fullest extent. Finally, Moore does well to finish his route stem and is not afraid of upcoming contact. He is able to place immense trust in his quarterback because of that.

Ball Skills

The adjustment, tracking and contortion ability that Moore possesses allows him to play bigger than his size, to say the least. He will often outjump opponents that appear to have a larger stature than him. As a result, Moore can frustrate opposing defensive backs in a number of ways throughout contested catch situations. He positions his body square to the football and firmly boxes out the defender. Moore is also subtle with his ability to time jumps and his arms during high point situations. The pass catcher also displayed an ability to come down with difficult catches, due to his ample catch radius and focus on the football.

Football IQ

Despite not playing the wide receiver position for very long, Moore has many different plans of attack and options to work with. This is especially true when you look at the vast ways in which he was able to get open and make defenders miss. His spatial awareness and body positioning before and after the catch is already quite exquisite. Moore understands the difference of needing to explode or push hard upfield, compared to slowing it down and finding his quarterback quicker during routes. Depending on the route or opposing coverage, he will adjust the timing of his fakes and will look to find the football earlier, if need be, too. Moreover, Moore remains focused when it comes to contested catch situations or when needing to make plays in traffic.

Versatility

Moore was used in a variety of ways inside of the Western Michigan offense. As an outside receiver, he is comfortable with a multitude of route concepts, specifically when working deep or to the middle of the field. Moore also has a high ceiling as a slot receiver. For example, he can create explosive plays and yards after the catch off of quick throws in the short passing game. Moore was also brought in motion many times. This eye candy allowed him to instantly reach top speed on pop passes behind the line of scrimmage. Or, his attention would open up big play chances for his teammates. Moore could find immediate production at the NFL level with designed or schemed touches, while continuing to move around the offensive formation.

Release Package

His natural instincts and wide array of moves allow him to create extra space at the line of scrimmage. Most of the time, Moore will use a stutter release. This can keep opposing defensive backs guessing on which direction he might go next. At the same time, Moore is able to take away any natural leverage that the opponent may have. Moore also uses a false step, where he utilizes a wide, outside step, before ultimately attacking hard to either the outside or inside shoulder of the opponent, depending on the route. His hand usage and hand technique could help him gain even more early separation during routes once transitioning into the NFL.

Separation

There are times where he can stack opponents vertically. While Moore is able to get on top of them and around them with quickness, there are mixed results elsewhere. He can sometimes be a bit too patient or indecisive in choosing on a fake or counter move to use. On top of that, Moore will sometimes get caught against contact. He can fight it off with hand fighting on occasion. However, being able to slip off of that or through that more constantly will be an emphasis at the NFL. His ability to find soft spots in coverage and transition smoothly in and out of breaks does make a considerable difference for him.

Hands

His hands are still an above average trait. However, Moore is simply not elite in this area. There are moments where he can be late to get his hands extended in front of his frame. For example, balls can sometimes travel too far into his body before he is able to corral it and stuff it away from defenders. You also see moments where his hand placement can be a bit off too. This comes from simply misjudging the pass or comes from off-target throws by his quarterback, which catches Moore a bit off guard. The issues in this area are very fixable with coaching, though. His ability to adjust also makes a difference for a player who is still slightly green at the position.

Speed

Moore makes more money for himself with short area burst, rather than long speed. That is not to say that he cannot win one-on-one battles with quickness. Yet, being able to outrace opponents in the open field is not always something that the offense can consistently bet on. Moore does a nice job of using smooth footwork and fires urgently with short strides. Because of that, he is able to reach his top speed at an instant. Moore will be able to help himself out in this area, so to speak, when you look at his awareness in space.

Run After Catch Ability

Most people envision receivers being able to create yards after the catch solely with speed and quickness. But for Moore, he does his most damage with his elusiveness and sneaky power. He can make defenders miss in space, he can bounce off of tackles and he can withstand larger hits comfortably with a lower center of gravity. Moore is still an explosive play threat. But, do not get that confused with him being a long burner in the open field.

CHIEFS FIT

Skyy Moore would be a nice complement to the kind of receivers that the Kansas City Chiefs have recently signed in free agency. With JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the Chiefs now have immense size and physicality in the offense. Moore would be able to add more of a technician style in Kansas City’s evolving offense. His ability to sell routes, make catches in traffic and simply get open is likely best suited for a spread offense like Kansas City’s. Meanwhile, Moore has the ability to be the next receiver that Andy Reid uses as a versatile gadget player. Just because he could be subject to schemed touches early on, there is still a diverse route tree that the Western Michigan product brings to the table. Thus, Moore could create immediate production in extensive ways.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.