One of the most electrifying receivers in college, Rondale Moore from Purdue could end up being one of the most slept-on prospects as well. While only playing 7 games in the last two seasons due to injuries, when Moore is healthy he puts on a show averaging 95.8 yards per game in his career along with 8.9 receptions. Freshman year, Moore was a consensus all-American, becoming the first player to do so since Adrian Peterson was at Oklahoma in 2004, which is a pretty big deal. After such a storied freshman year, injuries hit Moore like a ton of bricks, and after just four games he missed the rest of his 2019 season with a nasty hamstring injury, and the following year after just three games Moore’s 2020 season was ended by an unspecified lower-body injury.

Rondale Moore Stats and Measurables:

College: Purdue

Position: Receiver

Number: 4

Height: 5’9″

Weight: 181 lbs

2018: 13 Games/114 REC/1258 YDS/12 TD Rushing Stats: 21 ATT/ 213 YDS/2 TD

2019: 4 Games/29 REC/387 YDS/2 TD Rushing Stats: 3 ATT/3 YDS

2020: 3 Games/35 REC/270 YDS Rushing Stats: 6 ATT/32 YDS/1 TD

Strengths:

1. Despite injuries, Moore has still proven himself to be one of the best playmakers in this class. While being a smaller receiver, Moore will not just beat you downfield with his speed, his all-around athleticism is just insane. His routes are crisp, after he catches the ball he seems to be nearly impossible to bring down, with 89% of his total yards coming after the catch (#1 amongst 2021 draft-eligible receivers).

2. He also is one of the younger players in this class, when draft day comes around he will be 20 years old, giving him a lot more room to grow than other players. The main problem that could end up hindering Moore’s career is injuries. Although his size may be a question for some NFL teams and scouts, his athletic ability should be able to make up for it, running a reported 4.3 40, which may even be a bit high meaning that the only thing stopping him from reaching his insanely high ceiling is injuries.

3. Moore is very good at route running. He especially showed prowess at shorter routes less than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. He was sent on these routes often because Purdue wanted to give the ball to Moore however they could so that he could make plays. He can run almost any route out of the slot with precise cuts and good acceleration after his breaks.

Weaknesses:

1. Moore has had two scary injuries in three years, which is a big concern especially when considering he is a receiver who relies heavily on his athleticism. Injuries are the real big concern with Moore, he is an athletic receiver who already has shown that he might be pretty injury-prone, which is a huge red flag to teams thinking about selecting him.

2. Another problem of Moore’s that is not related to injuries is his drop problems. As said before, Moore ran many many short routes in college, and while on these routes he dropped a surprising amount of passes. Mostly this was due to looking upfield before securing the ball, which is a breakable habit. Still, he most definitely will be working on this once he reaches the next level.

Closing Ideas:

Overall, Rondale Moore has the tools to become a phenomenal receiver, but injuries will probably be the make or break of his career. He has one of the highest ceilings in this draft class, and teams that are scared of his injury problems may regret not taking a chance on him later down the line. If Moore can overcome these troubles, there’s no doubt that he can become a star in this league, so if the team that selects him is able to get rid of his injury scares, they will have a future star NF receiver on their hands.