Denarius Moore at 148 for Raiders

With the 148^th pick in the draft, the Oakland Raiders took Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Denarius Moore. At 6’0” 191 pounds, Moore is another speedster that the Raiders got good value from. Moore is rated the 117^th player available and the Raiders got him almost a full round after he was expected to go.

Moore is your typical possession wide receiver and that’s definitely exactly what the Raiders need in the absence of the oft-injured Chaz Schilens. Moore has excellent hands and is known for catching everything that comes in his vicinity. Moore is a disciplined route runner that gives good effort and technique blocking in the run game.

Moore really made a name for himself at the NFLPA game (formerly Texas vs. the Nation). He had a number of catches in the game, including a 28-yard touchdown grab and a deep ball reception. Watching his tape, he reminds me of former New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Amani Toomer.  

Coming to the Raiders, Moore should fit right in because he has endured three different head coaches in the last three years. I joke, I joke.

Moore had an astounding 21 yards-per-catch average in 2010 and caught 43 balls, nine of them for touchdowns. A lot of his routes in 2010 were run deep into the defense and more often than not he made the catches, thus the high average.

He is considered a natural ball player with soft hands that attacks the ball at its highest point. He is great at adjusting to the ball in the air as well as making the tough catches in traffic. But Moore was shut down by more elite competition in 2010 and has a difficult time breaking free of press man coverage.

That should be helped by the fact that he will face so much press man coverage in practice every day that he spends working with the Raiders. He was the only player in 2010 to eclipse the 200 yard receiving mark twice at the major college level. For the Raiders, he has an opportunity to become the go-to guy on third down with his tremendous hands and ability to get after the ball in the air.