In Week 8, Elijah Moore recorded his first double-digit point fantasy effort. Was it just an anomaly, or is this the beginning of the rookie’s rise to prominence in the Jets’ offense? Can fantasy football managers start Moore on Thursday Night Football against the Colts?
Elijah Moore is probably not a fantasy starter
Sorry to burst the bubble of the Moore stans out there, but it does not appear to be happening just yet. Moore is undoubtedly a talented player and likely has a bright future in the NFL. However, his ascendence did not begin in Week 8.
Moore caught all 6 of his targets for 67 yards. It marked the fourth time Moore saw at least 6 targets in a game. Normally, that’s encouraging, but we must view everything through the proper lens.
Moore is still not a featured part of the Jets’ offense
Although Moore’s final stat line was usable last week, his usage suggests no change. In a highly competitive contest, Moore played a season-low 36% of the snaps. Additionally, Moore’s 6 targets are not encouraging given Mike White’s passing volume.
White attempted 45 passes, which puts Moore’s target share at a mere 13.3%. He was tied with Ty Johnson and behind both Michael Carter and Jamison Crowder. The combination of Moore’s low snap share and low target share paints an ominous picture for his chances of repeating or building on last week’s outing.
Should fantasy managers start Elijah Moore on Thursday Night Football?
According to the numbers, Moore remains the Jets’ WR4. Even with Corey Davis out, he was out-snapped by Denzel Mims, Keelan Cole, and Jamison Crowder. Head coach Robert Saleh has shown us nothing to indicate Moore’s role in the offense will to increase.
The Colts do allow the seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Specifically, Indianapolis surrenders most of the passing touchdowns against them to the wide receiver position. Colts opponents are averaging 1.6 touchdowns per game against them.
Related | David Montgomery Injury Update: Will he be an RB1 or RB2 when he returns?
If Moore is going to reach WR3 numbers, he’s going to likely need to find the end zone. Is that a possibility? Absolutely. It hasn’t happened yet, though (his Week 7 rushing touchdown aside). Fantasy managers have no real incentive to roll the dice on Thursday night.
I prefer to avoid TNF players when I can, especially when they’re clearly not must-starts. At this point, Moore is nothing more than a stash in deeper leagues with the hope that his usage increases going forward. Until that happens, he’s better left on fantasy benches.
