Ole Miss football: Can Elijah Moore be next great Rebel wide out?

Ole Miss football will be without its top three receivers from last year. Can Elijah Moore be the next breakout star out of Oxford?

It didn’t show up in the win column, but Ole Miss had one of the best offenses in terms of talent last season. Between D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown and DeMarkus Lodge, there were few other places for the ball to go. With them gone, there is one candidate to be the next star receiver, and his name is Elijah Moore.

Moore is an undersized slot receiver that worked his way onto the field despite the talent above him as a freshman. This year, all the big names above him will be gone, and he will easily slide into a starting role in the slot.

The best part of Elijah Moore’s game is his ability to make plays once he has the ball in his hands. That is why he was put in punt and kick returns as a freshman. He was simply too skilled a playmaker to keep off the field.

Although Moore only had two touchdowns as a freshman, he actually caught more passes than D.K. Metcalf. Of course, injuries to Metcalf kept him off the field for a few games, but it is still impressive to see significant production as a freshman. He will naturally get more targets in 2019 due to his ability to make a play with the ball in hands and the fact that there aren’t many proven options around him.

No matter who starts at quarterback at the beginning of the year, a receiver like Elijah Moore is an asset. He is easy to get the ball to in the open field, and he makes you look better in the stat sheet with his yards after the catch. When things aren’t going well in a game, a simple screen to Moore is the equivalent to shooting a layup just to see the ball go through the hoop.

Now, there will be other talent in the wide receiver room this year. It’s just that most of it won’t be proven talent like Moore. Braylon Sanders is one of the only returning receivers with double-digit receptions last year. Ole Miss also recruited the receiver position very well in 2018, signing five receivers, two of which were four-star players. The depth will come with time, but Moore is the only known value as of right now. He will get the targets, and he has the talent to turn them into touchdowns.

I’m not saying that we should pencil him in for the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but I do think that Elijah Moore has enough talent to help ease the pain of losing three of your top receivers in one year. Ole Miss fans will still reminisce on the glory days with Metcalf and Brown, but they should be excited about the future with their new star at wide receiver.