Heading into the 2022 campaign, New York Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore was seen as a potential breakout star. The former second-round pick from Mississippi performed extremely well as a rookie back in 2021, recording 43 catches for 538 yards and five touchdowns with just one drop.
It has not been the same for the Mississippi product as a sophomore in 2022. Moore has been phased out of the Jets’ rotation at wide receiver some. Just last week against the Green Bay Packers, he did not record a single catch or target while playing in less than 60% of the Jets snaps.
Apparently, this is not sitting well with Moore. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Moore has requested a trade from the Jets’ organization. This comes after the Jets excused Moore from practice earlier on Thursday for “personal reasons.” It also comes after some interesting social media activity on the part of the youngster.
At 5-foot-10, Moore can play both out on the boundary and in the slot. With that said, he’s played third fiddle to Corey Davis and Garrett Wilson for a surprising Jets sqaud that sits at 4-2 heading into Week 7’s outing against the Denver Broncos.
- Elijah Moore stats (2022): 16 receptions, 202 yards, 0 TD, 55.2% catch rate
The question now become whether New York will honor Moore’s request ahead of the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline. Rapoport’s report suggests that general manager Joe Douglas and Co. have no intention of moving the young pass-catcher. But it could get to the point that they have no choice.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated NFL trade rumors
Potential Elijah Moore trade scenarios
Assuming Moore is 100% committed to a trade, there’s going to be no limit of interest in his services. We’re talking about a high-upside 22-year-old receiver who has two years remaining on his rookie contract on the cheap. Contenders and non-contenders alike will show interest. Below, we look at a few potential landing spots.
- Philadelphia Eagles: Right now, Quez Watkins is the Jets’ starting slot receiver behind DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. He’s caught all of six passes for 88 yards in six games. What’s to stop general manager Howie Roseman from doubling down on another target for quarterback Jalen Hurts? Philadelphia remains the only undefeated team in the NFL and is in win-now mode.
- Las Vegas Raiders: Mack Hollins has slowed down some after a strong start to the season. The veteran has caught just 3-of-9 targets for 33 yards over the past two games. He’s not going to be a long-term fixture in Vegas. Meanwhile, head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler got a first-hand look at Elijah Moore when they were with the Patriots a season ago. This is a marriage that could make sense for all sides.
- Los Angeles Rams: General manager Les Snead has never been afraid to pull off that blockbuster trade. There also might not be a better time than now with Los Angeles struggling at wide receiver behind Cooper Kupp. Moore would slot in as the starting boundary receiver opposite Allen Robinson, creating a big three for Matthew Stafford and the defending champs in the process.
- San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco likes what it has in former seventh-round pick Jauan Jennings in the slot. It also lacks a ton of draft capital following the trade for Trey Lance. In no way does this mean that the 49ers wouldn’t look for someone to man the slot with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk on the outside. San Francisco had requested Moore from New York in trade talks for Samuel during the offseason, too.
- Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers has made no bones about it. He believes that Green Bay should be active ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Primarily, the Packers have struggled big time replacing the recently-traded Davante Adams at wide receiver. With Randall Cobb now sidelined to injury, that’s going to be magnified further. Elijah Moore would be an absolutely ideal fit in Green Bay.