The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ROOKIE RECEIVERS READY TO FACE OFF
Falcons’ Ridley set to square off with WR taken ahead of him.
FLOWERY BRANCH — It may have come as a slight surprise, at least to Calvin Ridley, when Carolina made D.J. Moore the first wide receiver selected in April’s NFL draft.
Moore, the former Maryland standout, was selected No. 24 overall shortly before the Falcons picked Ridley at No. 26. But the little guy has demonstrated why the Panthers graded him so highly.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound superslick, tankster from Philadelphia has become Carolina’s go-to wideout, although running back Christian McCaffrey leads the Panthers with 94 receptions to Moore’s 49. It took a minute or three. Moore caught just two passes in Carolina’s first three games, including a 51-yard touchdown pass in Atlanta on Sept. 16, when the Falcons beat the Panthers 31-24 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But after Carolina’s bye in week four, he was the NFL’s most productive rookie wide receiver over the next seven weeks with 33 receptions for 482 yards. He took off as wide receiver Torrey Smith was injured, and he’s doing a lot of his work by bully, kind of like Rocky.
Moore’s not tall, yet he’s fast and strong. That’s why he’s No. 4 in the NFL among all wide receiv-
ers with an average of 8.1 yards after each catch.
“I think one of his biggest strengths is how he runs after the catch,” said Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant. “He breaks a lot of tackles, has got a lot of moves and he runs hard.”
Ridley has also made a splash, and he, too, was delayed in making his mark.
The 6-1, 190-pound speedster from Alabama did not catch a pass in the Falcons’ opener at Philadelphia, and then over the next three games, he hauled in 15 passes for 264 yards and six touchdowns. He was particularly hard to miss, or catch, in an overtime loss to the Saints when he pulled in seven passes for 146 yards and three scores on Sept. 23.
These are compelling, yet different guys.
There wasn’t much separating them in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, where Moore’s time of 4.42 seconds was fifth fastest among receivers, and Ridley’s 4.43 tied for sixth.
Moore, though, tested spectacularly in some other areas, like in the vertical jump with 39.5 inches (Ridley went 31) and in the broad jump (11 feet to Ridley’s nine feet, 2 inches).
They each bench-pressed 225 pounds 15 times, but the Panthers went for Moore’s ability to break tackles and picked him.
“It’s his ability to break tackles I think that’s jumped out to us on the catch-andrun games,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn. “With him and [Curtis] Samuel, the speed that they are now playing with, with the addition of some of the other receivers, they can really run.
“They made a definite shift in that way. They have added legitimate speed at the receiving spots over the last couple of years and it shows.”
Ridley has a few more catches, yards and touchdowns than Moore, but the Panthers have used their rookie wideout in more ways.
Moore has 49 receptions for 688 yards and two scores, plus 13 carries for 172 yards. He also has returned five kickoffs and six punts, although neither for several weeks.
Ridley has 56 catches for 699 yards, eight scores, and six rushes for 27 yards.
Each player has scuffled a bit as the season has wound down. Ridley’s had some dropped and tipped passes, and he’s fumbled twice. Moore has had three fumbles, once on a punt return.
Sometimes, he lines up inside, and sometimes he lines up outside, but the Panthers’ goal is usually to put him in position to make hay after he catches the ball.
“A little bit of both. Majority outside, but they kind of move all their guys around,” Trufant said. “He does most of his damage after he gets the ball, and they try to get him in those situations.”
In Trufant’s opinion, the Panthers aren’t likely to change the routes receivers run with the change from injured quarterback Cam Newton to Taylor Heinicke.
“I don’t think so,” the cornerback said. “I heard that the quarterback was taking most of the first-team reps in practice throughout the season anyway, so he knows the offense. I’m sure he’s going to come out aggressive, and we’ve just got to make it hard on him.”