Up next in 10
The Buffalo Bills didn't trade for DJ Moore to replace Stefon Diggs' stat line.
D.A. breaks down one revealing quote from Joe Brady that completely changes how Bills fans should evaluate their new No. 1 receiver.
Brady all but predicted fans will panic if Moore finishes a game with modest numbers. But that's missing the point.
DJ Moore's biggest impact may never show up in the box score.
His ability to dictate coverages, draw defensive attention, create favorable matchups for Khalil Shakir and the rest of the offense, and ultimately make life easier for Josh Allen could make him one of the Bills' most valuable offensive pieces—even if fantasy owners are disappointed.
This is why Bills fans should judge DJ Moore differently... and why D.A. says you may want to think twice before drafting him in fantasy football.
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0:00
Joe Brady just gave us a tell on how
0:02
he's going to use DJ Moore and what
0:05
Bills fans can expect in terms of
0:07
numbers. And not every fan's going to be
0:09
thrilled about this, but I'm here to
0:11
tell you why it's actually a very good
0:14
thing.
0:15
>> [music]
0:19
>> Last week Joe Brady sat down with the
0:21
Shout podcast and he was asked what
0:24
player or players is he most excited
0:26
about that might be going under the
0:27
radar. Now, I don't know if DJ Moore's
0:29
under the radar, but he mentioned Moore.
0:31
And he said he's really excited to see
0:33
what DJ Moore provides to the offense.
0:35
And I would say, well, that reflects
0:36
just about every Bills fan. Bills fans
0:39
have been dying for a number one option
0:42
for Josh Allen, certainly since Stefon
0:44
Diggs left, but maybe even before that.
0:46
A really dynamic wide receiver that Josh
0:50
Allen could put up some big plays and
0:52
big numbers with. And DJ Moore comes
0:54
with big expectations. But, Brady
0:57
tempered those expectations by saying he
1:00
knows what's going to happen. The first
1:02
time that Moore goes for four catches
1:04
and 40 yards, there's going to be a lot
1:06
of critics and a lot of grumbling about
1:07
it. But, as long as a guy like Khalil
1:10
Shakir finishes with nine catches and 90
1:12
yards in that game, then DJ Moore
1:13
provided more than just numbers. And I
1:15
think this is really key here. I think
1:17
Joe Brady is obviously aware. He knows
1:20
Buffalo. He knows the fan base. He
1:23
certainly has been keen on and aware of
1:26
what's been happening the last couple of
1:27
years. He knows that Bills fans are
1:30
desperate for a wide receiver one. And
1:33
in saying DJ Moore is going to be a guy
1:37
that he's some most excited about, one
1:39
of the guys most exciting, he knows
1:41
there's a target on DJ Moore's back by
1:43
saying that, but that it's naturally
1:45
already there. It's okay
1:48
if DJ Moore does go for four catches and
1:51
40 yards if
1:54
other guys eat as well. And I think
1:57
Bills fans are savvy enough to know
2:00
that. Hey, a reminder to subscribe to
2:02
the channel, click on this button below
2:04
me. That way you are subscribed and you
2:05
won't miss an episode. Bill Maddux
2:07
happens throughout the entire
2:09
off-season. But what I like from Joe
2:11
Brady here is the awareness
2:15
that DJ Moore is going to bring more of
2:18
the table than just numbers. And that's
2:21
okay. That's okay because even though
2:24
they gave up a lot to get him, if Moore
2:27
doesn't have 110 catches for 1,200
2:30
yards, there are other ways he's going
2:33
to benefit this offense. When you just
2:35
look at DJ Moore's production. Look,
2:38
last season, while being dropped in the
2:41
pecking order of who was the priority in
2:43
that offense,
2:45
he only had 50 receptions for 700 yards.
2:49
That would certainly be not a good
2:52
enough for
2:53
for the Bills this season.
2:55
Unless he's injured, there's no way if
2:57
he plays 17 games, 50 catches with under
3:00
700 yards is going to be palatable for
3:02
any fan and I think for for Brady and
3:04
the offense as well.
3:05
But let's remember that that DJ Moore is
3:08
29 years old. And in terms of
3:11
thousand-yard seasons, you got to go
3:12
back to 2023.
3:15
I think Moore, because of his size, his
3:19
speed, his hands, his total package,
3:22
will draw more double teams or more
3:25
defensive assignments away to create
3:28
space around the middle for other guys
3:32
and on the opposite side of the field so
3:34
that Josh simply has more options.
3:40
Too often in big games against really
3:45
good defenses,
3:46
Bills fans were waiting for somebody to
3:50
step up to make a big play for Josh. And
3:53
so often it felt like Josh had to be
3:55
perfect. And if he wasn't perfect
3:57
through the air, he was going to have to
3:58
make something with his legs happen.
4:01
Which, of course, because Josh Allen is
4:03
Josh Allen, he did so many times. But
4:05
let's face it, last year there's a lot
4:07
of moments where Josh didn't look like
4:10
Josh Allen at his absolute apex. Now,
4:12
some of that I think was definitely
4:13
injury.
4:15
But a lot of part A lot of that I think
4:17
was part and parcel to a quagmire that
4:20
happened in front of him without having
4:23
a wide receiver defenses really had to
4:27
respect.
4:29
Really had to go, we got to go with him.
4:32
Somebody's got to make sure we got him.
4:35
You can't leave him. I think the Bills
4:38
have really suffered from that. And
4:40
for DJ Moore,
4:42
a big part of this this year will be
4:45
that. That his success will not
4:48
necessarily be your fantasy points. His
4:51
success will be opening things up so
4:54
that there isn't the quagmire in front
4:57
of Josh to make more plays and more
4:59
space. But let's face it, as Josh gets
5:02
older,
5:03
his legs become less and less of a
5:05
factor. Now, they are certainly a factor
5:07
right now.
5:08
But what he was able to do at 26 years
5:11
old is not what he's going to be able to
5:13
do at 31, 32, 33 years old in terms of
5:15
running the football.
5:17
There has to be more space and that is
5:19
ultimately the game in the NFL. So, I
5:22
think it's important
5:24
that Joe Brady understands both sides of
5:27
this. Hey, there's an expectation by
5:29
everybody in Buffalo that DJ Moore is
5:31
going to have to get some numbers here,
5:33
but that's not the only value he bring.
5:36
I would also say, in terms of what a
5:38
reasonable expectation is, again, you'd
5:40
love to see DJ Moore with a 106 catches
5:43
for 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns.
5:46
Possibly not realistic.
5:48
But we can also all admit that Moore has
5:52
never played with a quarterback like
5:55
Josh Allen.
5:57
When DJ Moore got to Carolina, it was
6:00
the tail end of Cam Newton's dynamic
6:04
play. Really Cam's peak came in that MVP
6:07
season 2015 when they get to the Super
6:09
Bowl.
6:10
DJ didn't get there until a couple of
6:11
years after that. DJ's seeing the tail
6:14
ends
6:16
of Cam's great play making. But you
6:18
know, Cam was never a great passer.
6:22
Cam was a force of nature athletically.
6:24
He was incredible two-way dynamic player
6:26
in terms of throwing and running. But he
6:29
never had the passing acumen of Josh
6:31
Allen.
6:32
So, that's the first part. He's seeing
6:34
the back end of Cam's greatness. And
6:37
then
6:38
he's getting Teddy Bridgewater.
6:41
He's getting a Sam Darnold year in there
6:43
from Carolina. He's getting a poo-poo
6:46
platter of Panthers
6:49
stopgaps post Cam Newton or when Cam was
6:52
injured. Then in Chicago,
6:55
remember, he's getting Justin Fields.
6:58
And then finally, the coming of Caleb
7:00
Williams, who is certainly not a a
7:02
finished product. He's nowhere close to
7:04
what Josh is at this point in time.
7:06
That's got to be super exciting. That's
7:08
got to be considered here.
7:10
So, I believe that what is a reasonable
7:13
expectation for a guy like DJ Moore if
7:17
he plays all 17 games,
7:20
I think you should be able to expect 70
7:23
to 80 catches for about 1,000 yards. But
7:26
that doesn't jump off the page, you
7:29
know, because there's going to be guys
7:30
like Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba
7:33
and and many others that are going to
7:34
put up bonkers numbers and he's not
7:36
going to be near that. That's okay. He
7:38
needs to be able to have those 75 to 80
7:41
catches. Maybe more would be great, but
7:44
I think 75 to 80
7:46
where we know Josh is going to get him
7:48
the football in space with some
7:51
opportunities, some jump balls,
7:53
downfield shots six or seven times a
7:55
game. Maybe if it's working, that
7:57
becomes eight or nine.
8:00
But,
8:01
that also his effectiveness is not just
8:04
showing up in the score sheet. And let
8:06
us hope that that is enough for the
8:08
offense to open up. I think it's really
8:11
interesting because, you know, Joe Brady
8:13
now has some of the shackles taken off
8:16
on this offense. We spoke to Tyler Dunn
8:19
last week as as part of the Bill
8:20
Maddock. And you know, Tyler admitted
8:23
that there were fingerprints of Sean
8:25
McDermott on a lot of the big game
8:27
plans. And a lot of the big game plans
8:30
became very conservative offensively so
8:32
that they weren't in a blitzkrieg
8:35
shootout one-on-one with another great
8:38
quarterback.
8:39
Well, that that might turn a little bit
8:41
here this season with Joe Brady under
8:43
under the the hood. And I think that
8:45
could be a good thing. Because Josh
8:47
Allen's one of the great weapons in
8:49
football. Why not take advantage of that
8:51
here and now? Make sure you are
8:55
subscribed because you know, we've got a
8:56
summer to break everything down going
8:58
into the 2026 season. Right here, make
9:01
sure you're subscribed. Also, if you're
9:03
a Sabres fan, we have Sabres in six,
9:05
complete coverage of the upcoming draft
9:07
as well in the entire off-season for the
9:10
Buffalo Sabres. And if you're a Syracuse
9:11
fan such as myself, we got complete
9:13
Syracuse coverage coming up for this
9:16
summer going into the football season.
9:18
And game recaps after every game coming
9:20
up this season for both football and
9:21
basketball. A lot of expectations for
9:23
Fran Brown. And of course, Gerry
9:25
McNamara on the floor in basketball as
9:28
well. Thanks for watching, everybody.
9:29
I'm D.A., Damon Amendolara, and catch me
9:31
weekday mornings on SiriusXM Channel 82.
9:35
I'll see you then. Appreciate you. I'm
9:36
D.A. See you next time.
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