KC Chiefs: What would a successful year from Skyy Moore look like?

Second-year Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore is poised to grace the field in 2023 as he embarks on his sophomore season. With it being his second year in the NFL, there are big expectations for Moore, who is a pivotal piece that will help determine whether or not the Chiefs made the right investments at the wide receiver position.

Wide receiver is a position in which there is a lot of talent and upside but not a lot of proven production. In fact, Moore would fall directly under that category. A second-round pick just a year ago, the Western Michigan product has a lot of responsibility this year as fans are expecting big things following a rather quiet rookie season.

With that being said, this year is very important for Moore and the Chiefs receivers. If the position group is to take a step forward and have what is considered a successful year, he will very likely be a part of that. So, what would a leap year look like for Moore?

The KC Chiefs need Skyy Moore to take a big leap forward in 2023, his second season in the league.

Moore is an interesting case study heading into 2023 because of how little of an impact he made in 2022 as a rookie. There's just not much to go off of, yet many Chiefs fans are confident in his ability to make an impact. Now, typically wide receivers don't make a massive impact as rookies in Andy Reid's offense, but they usually have moments that make you go, "That's why the Chiefs drafted this guy".

Even when players like Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman were able to string together some really good moments as rookies and each of them totaled over 500 yards receiving as rookies. Moore, on the other hand, had less than 300 yards receiving in his first year and had a bit of a confusing rookie season. There weren't very many explosive plays coming from him or many "wow" moments that gave you the impression that he was going to be a big contributor.

Moore did have a 100-yard game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but that was after a number of Chiefs went down due to injury. Other than that game, Moore never came near 100 receiving yards on the season. You could make the argument that Moore didn't really get the opportunity to do anything more than that. This begs the question; Why?

Moore was 4th in snaps among all Chiefs wide receivers last year, and sometimes it seemed like less than that. Especially considering Kadarius Toney joined them very late in the season and pretty much jumped Moore in the pecking order. Even Justin Watson had more snaps than the second-round draft pick last year.

When Moore actually got on the field, he seemed to get open at a pretty good rate and his 1.32 yards per route run was a positive from last season. He also showed promise in the YAC department as over half of his yards came after the catch last season.

The problem that Moore dealt with much of last season was that there were a lot of experienced guys ahead of him and a lot of receivers that played from the slot where he also mainly plays. That makes it really difficult for Moore to get on the field, but he's going to be looking at a similar situation this upcoming season.

What Chiefs fans are going to have to hope for is that Moore learned a lot developing under the guys who were above him on the depth chart but that the talent gets hum over that hump. Moore did come from a smaller school and hasn't been playing the receiver position for all that long, so a grace period is understandable, but not many receivers go from less than 300 yards receiving as a rookie to a huge impact receiver in year two. The odds are currently against Moore.

In the end, Moore has the physical tools to succeed in this league and the reliable hands along with the ability to get open is evident. Players like Golden Tate and Jarvis Landy were able to have lengthy, successful NFL careers despite not being overwhelming athletes because they got open consistently and had reliable hands. Not to say that Moore will be Golden Tate or even Jarvis Landry, but that should be the goal.

For that career arc to happen, this year has to be a substantial step forward, especially since this receiving corps is begging for someone to step up. It is only fair to ask Moore to at least double his receiving total from last season with the goal being 600+ yards receiving. For right now, that's what the over/under should be for Moore's sophomore season. Here's to hoping that his first career touchdown in Super Bowl 57 was a sign of Moore's ensuing for 2023.