2021 NFL Draft rookie profile: Purdue WR Rondale Moore

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We continue our prospect profiles for the 2021 NFL Draft with one of the most electric wide receivers in all of college football, Rondale Moore of Purdue. 

Moore is a super interesting prospect because we don’t have a ton of recent tape on him — he’s missed plenty of games over the last two seasons. But when he’s been on the field, all Moore has done is make plays. It’ll be interesting to see where Moore is drafted in a few months, but he is going to find a new home and will continue that trend of making plays, this time at the NFL level.

Rondale Moore has produced when on the field

Injuries have limited Moore to just seven games over the past two seasons, but in his true freshman season back in 2018, he did whatever he wanted to, hauling in 114 passes for 1,258 yards and 12 scores. He also had nearly 800 yards on special teams, while he was responsible for 29% of Purdue’s targets. During that season, Moore was primarily on the slot, lining up there over 91% of the time, but he also lined up in the backfield at times. Purdue just schemed ways to get their best player the football and it clearly worked. During his recruitment process before joining Purdue, Moore ran a 4.33 40-yard dash, showcasing his immense speed and game-breaking ability. He put together one of the truly great true freshman seasons we’ve seen in college football, but over the final two seasons, Moore played just seven games, catching 64 balls for 657 yards and two scores. Don’t let his recent disappearing act fool you, however: Moore can flat-out play.

Strengths: Rondale Moore wins with speed and toughness

• Game-breaking ability
• Tremendous speed
• Toughness
• YAC monster
• Versatility

NFL teams are already daydreaming about ways to implement Moore into their offense. With his explosiveness and game-breaking ability, Moore can be used as a weapon in any offense, whether that means lining him up in the slot, on the outside or in the backfield. During his incredible freshman campaign, Moore was a star with the football in his hands, as he led the nation in yards after contact (349) and broken tackles (37), according to Pro Football Focus. He is very, very difficult to tackle and Purdue knew that, as they fed him a ton of targets off screens over the course of his collegiate career. Sure, he’s 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but Moore will brush off contact. Just ask the Ohio State defense back in 2018, for instance. Of course, he also makes a ton of plays after the catch with his speed, as he ran a 4.33 40-yard dash before college, while also sporting an impressive shuttle time. That explosiveness makes him extremely versatile, as Moore played plenty on special teams at Purdue, whether it be on kick or punt returns. Back in that magical 2018 season, Moore had nearly 800 special teams yards and actually won the Paul Hornung Award, which is given to the most versatile player in college football.

Weaknesses: Rondale Moore could stand to expand his route tree

• Limited route tree
• Injuries the las two seasons
• Likely won’t play much on the perimeter

As we talked about, Moore was primarily a slot receiver, playing on the inside over 91% of the time in 2018. A ton of his production and huge plays came from Moore catching the ball in the short area and making plays once the ball is in his hands. In a very limited sample in 2020, 110 of Moore’s 270 receiving yards came off of screens, while he sported an average depth of target of 2.6 yards, an insanely low number. The majority of his production in college came from within 1-10 yards, and he’ll almost assuredly play in the slot in the NFL, which will give him great matchups against linebackers and slot corners but will limit his average depth of target. Just 16 of his 154 targets during his freshman year came off passes 20 yards or more down the field (10.3%). It isn’t a glaring weakness, but it is a bit of a limitation and keeps him below the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Devonta Smith and the other names at the top of this year’s receiver draft class. Meanwhile, missing a handful of games due to injury over the last two seasons is obviously a bit of a concern and is the reason why Moore isn’t consistently being talked about as a top-10 pick in this upcoming draft. He dealt with a hamstring injury in 2019 and last year, Moore nursed lower body injuries. It is entirely possible that these were just blips on the radar and Moore will have a healthy rookie season and career. But it is obviously worth noting entering the draft. 

Rondale Moore a fit in Green Bay?

The unquestioned perfect landing spot for Moore is 29th overall to the Green Bay Packers, and I won’t hear otherwise. Think about it. You have Davante Adams, who will remain your alpha and do everything. Then you have Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who, though inconsistent, is a dangerous deep ball threat and will stretch the defense. The only thing this offense is missing is a slot receiver who can be used in the screen game or on touch passes. A player that can make plays after the catch. Moore, who doesn’t project as a WR1 for an offense, would fit perfectly next to Adams and should have plenty of room to operate out of the slot. Outside of that, Washington, who ranked inside the bottom-five in yards after the catch per completion, would make sense at 19th overall. They still need someone opposite Terry McLaurin.