Ok, so now that CEH is officially dead in my mind I'm now wondering what's going on with Skyy Moore!?

Thought this guy was going to be our Randall Cobb or Tyler Lockett, what's up with him?

7 REC on 14 TGTS for 104 Yards w/ the best QB in the game, and seemingly being replaced on SPT by Toney.

George Pickens and Nik Bonito were in that draft pocket and would be looking pretty solid as Chiefs rather than Skyy Moore and Brian Cook about now.
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I think we're grossly overthinking it. Not all rookies are stars on day 1. Some take a bit to get going. Some never do, but it's far too early for this shit.

I think I've iterated how I feel about draft picks before in relation to expectations, but...

Round 1 - Starter or significant contributor in year 1 and certainly starter in year 2.
Round 2 - Contributor in year 1 and starter or significant contributor year 2, starter by year 3. I normally expect RB, IOL, and S taken in round 2 to project more as Round 1 at other positions.
Round 3 - Contributor by year 2 and starter or significant contributor year 3. I normally expect RB, IOL, and S taken in round 3 to project more as Round 2 at other positions.
The rest you hope can give you anything beyond special teams and reserve status.

This helps keep me semi-grounded in my expectations.

I don't expect a lot from Skyy this year other than being a contributor. Next year he needs to step up into a Hardman role.

I would normally expect a lot from Cook this year, but he's behind entrenched veterans that are playing well. Cook should take over as a starter next year for Thornhill.

Calm your titties boys, it's early.

Did most of us prefer the skillset of Pickens to Moore? Yes. Should we continually use that as the barometer for Moore? I don't think so. Not getting Pickens could be a gross miscalculation by Veach and he settled. It might not be.

Sure, it doesn't look wonderful yet but let's see what Moore develops into by this time next year then gauge the pick. Those of you that despised the pick when it happened have your ammo for now, but may not always have it. He could become a very good player. Chances are, he's a movable piece that is primarily a slot guy and those guys (cough, Edleman, cough, Welker, cough, Renfrow, etc) can be extremely valuable.
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Well, I would say as valuable as those guys can be, they don't usually require a 2nd round pick to find them.
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{cough} 7th round pick {cough} UDFA {coughcough} 5th round pick {cough}

If someone asks why this guy 'fell' to us at 54? That's why - you just don't need to be taking guys with that kind of ceiling in the 2nd round. They're system dependent players and you can 'build' one instead of pay retail for him.

Skyy Moore belongs on an NFL roster. He has a future in this league.

He wasn't a 2nd round caliber prospect.
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I can agree with this.
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He was absolutely a 2nd round prospect, whether you want to admit it or not. His skill set and production were easily as good as Rondale Moore, Elijah Moore, KJ Hamler, D'Wayne Eskridge, and so on. That is where receivers just like him have gone in the draft. You could argue he was better, as a prospect than several of those players. The simple fact that YOU personally did not like him has no bearing on his draft prospect status.

Could it end up that several of those players, including Moore, do not end up worth 2nd round picks and it changes the landscape of selecting those types that high in the future? I think it very well could.

If I were to look at it from a GM perspective, it would be difficult to select a player in the 1st or 2nd round that you cannot project outside with relative ease. Several of those guys I listed above, and many more over the past few years, don't project outside very well. I thought Moore was a fringe yes though. He has just enough size and his ability to beat press off the snap was really good. That said, this is where I think you have the most leverage in your argument.

We both liked Jalen Tolbert in the 2nd. He went in the late 3rd. He hasn't really played much at all for the Cowboys. You screamed for Calvin Austin, who I didn't view as an outside option at all, and he's been on IR all year. I mean, it's not a perfect science. If it were, then maybe we should have taken Romeo Doubs in the 2nd.

In any event, I'm not convinced in any way that Moore's lack of production and playing time is related to his physical abilities. Reid doesn't play guys that don't know the playbook. I think it may be a mental thing, much more so than we may know. I'm convinced we need to give this kid some time.

I also think some of it is that he "likely" was specifically targeted to replace Hardman in 2023 and the Chiefs aren't going to take a lot of those snaps from Hardman right now.

I also think there's a specific reason Toney was brought in for 2023. If I'm gazing into my crystal ball, I think the WR room is going to change again somewhat. We all know, Veach included, that MVS isn't worth keeping on that contract and I think he's released. I'm guessing:

1. JuJu is retained as the #1 on a long-term deal
2. Toney is your #2 opposite JuJu.
3. Moore takes Hardman's role at the slot
4. Watson is retained as the #4
5. Draft Pick
6. Ross or low-key FA.

As for your argument about building a player, yes I agree. I think if you're looking specifically for a slot WR, then you can get that type in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th round and develop him. I thought Danny Gray was a build-a-slot guy you could get in the 4th. Turns out he went as a comp 3rd. Austin would have been nice in that realm.
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All of this is fine, but my only nagging concern is that I thought Moore was selected because of his elite route running? Since he's been with the team, however, I've seen/heard 3 references now to him not producing because he doesn't fully understanding the playbook or run the best routes yet.
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I just have a very hard time saying that the 13th WR drafted should've been one of the first 60 players selected. Do you truly think the WR pool was THAT good?

Or is it more likely that the insanity of the WR market in FA led to teams reaching on WRs to avoid having to pay them as free agents?

And again, the whole "Reid doesn't play guys that don't know the playbook" argument has been beaten to death at this point and frankly, I think it was largely dispelled BEFORE Toney was getting significant snaps with a week on the roster.

After? Man, that argument is simply dead in the water. It was hanging by a very think thread 3 weeks ago - that thread has been cut. If you can play, Andy will play you. And Mahomes will throw to you.

I also don't think he was drafted to replace Hardman - they're simply not similar players. There's no way Moore, who's skill set and experience demonstrates that he's a short area slant/curl player, should be taking the drag, dig, post and corner routes that Hardman is running.
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There's certainly been an uptick in the last 3 drafts.
2020 NFL draft: 13 WRs drafted in the top 60.
2021 NFL draft: 10 WRs drafted in the top 60.
2022 NFL draft: 13 WRs drafted in the top 60.

I'd say yeah, it's probably a thing.
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I know "slot receiver" has become a dirty term, but you're telling me you wouldn't have given up a 54th pick for any of those? I mean maybe Renfrow I guess. Those are 2nd round caliber prospects in my eyes!

I might be alone here and I guess it fits with your "complimentary piece" rather than a WR1, but I'd consider a low-ish 2nd RD pick as a fair investment in that sort of role. Perhaps the Moore pick becomes more palatable if we did have that established WR1?
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It's 2nd round caliber production, yes.

But strictly as prospects, you don't need to draft guys like that early. You simply never have.

It's a market price problem. It's the kind of failure to 'game' the draft that oftentimes will put a ceiling on your return. It's taking Tyson Jackson - a damn 3-tech - in the top 3. It's taking Dexter McCluster in the 2nd round to be Darren Sproles.

Meanwhile, by failing to capitalize on draft value, we lost Sam Williams who has arguably been the best rookie pass rusher to come out of the draft this year.

The only way to justify taking him in the 2nd is if you believe he's a future X receiver sort who can be an every down, all fields WR.

I simply don't see that kind of player here.
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I agree, this is the correct way to look at recently drafted players.

However, I think there's something to be said about giving him some touches to build his confidence. He has plenty of time to grow into something here but I'd like him to feel like he's making progress going into next season. I'd like to see him and Toney get some plays once it seems we've sealed the games moving forward. Also, how about giving ROJO a couple balls also!?
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Ah yes, now that Clyde has been discarded we turn to the next victim, Skyy Moore.
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So given that I was very clear on my position in re: Moore BEFORE we drafted him, why precisely should I NOT have said opinion after we've drafted him and he's been a non-factor for 9 weeks?

I said before the draft that I thought Moore was a 'fit' in the 3rd and a 'value' in the 4th. So far nothing I have seen has disabused me of that notion.

But you can keep on playing the violin for him if you'd like...
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I think it’s pretty clear that the WR position fell off after the Skyy Moore pick. The next WR was taken at 71, 17 spots later.

The Chiefs traded Tyreek, knew Mecole was most likely gone after this year and Toney was not available at the time so they tried finding a WR who fits that mold, which Pickens and Pierce clearly did not.

Like him or not the kid fits the offense quite well. But expecting any player drafted outside the top 50 to be outstanding year 1 is not realistic.

Let’s see what he does with Juju out. Still think he’s gonna be a nice player for us when he gets more experience.
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