People may be expecting too much out of the Cleveland Browns’ Elijah Moore

Many fans and experts think Elijah Moore can be all that the Cleveland Browns need.

The Cleveland Browns have seemingly lost out on DeAndre Hopkins. Reports claim that he and the New England Patriots have a mutual interest, as both sides are rumored to be interested in getting a deal done. Hopkins would give the Patriots a brand new target for their young quarterback Mac Jones.

But Hopkins not landing in Cleveland would be a huge blow for the Browns’ playoff chances. Hopkins isn’t what he once was, but he’s still better than all but one of the Browns’ current receivers. Landing Hopkins would have been a huge boost for a redesigned offense that will lean heavily on Deshaun Watson’s playmaking abilities.

Yet, despite the Browns needing Hopkins, there are some in the media and the fandom who think the team has all they need. In fact, many believe that recently acquired receiver, Elijah Moore, can do for the Browns what Hopkins could.

A bold claim that really has no evidence to support it.

Elijah Moore is an unknown variable who could be a huge issue for the Cleveland Browns

Some receivers are not known for their team-first mentality. The most popular, most talented, are often a stats-first type of players. Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson; take your pick. Now, the Buffalo Bills are dealing with their own in Stephan Diggs, a receiver that the Bills have both paid with a massive contract and fed with a steady supply of passes. Yet, he still wants more.

Does he deserve it? Maybe, but that’s up to the Bills. The New York Jets had a player like that, someone who was paid well for what he’s done in the league, but still had to deal with a steady line of complaints and poor behavior. They got tired of that player’s arrogance and traded him away, feeling he’d never develop.

That player was Moore.

Moore has had a history of outbursts, childish behavior, and demands that led to the Jets trading him away. He underperformed last year, and while yes he did play with Zach Wilson, so did Garrett Wilson, who had a major year for the Jets. Despite what some will tell you, the Jets were 14th in yards passing last year as a team. They broke over 4,000 passing yards as a group.

Moore’s lack of production is mostly on his own behavior. He played in 16 of 17 games and just didn’t get it done. He was fifth on the team in yards per reception, all while ranking second in targets for receivers. Still, he was only fourth in receiving yards on the team. So not only was he being targeted quite a bit, but he was also not moving the markers when he did catch the ball.

Now you can argue that he was such a headache because of bad quarterback play and because he wasn’t the primary option, but in Cleveland, he’s playing with a quarterback who had an equally bad year as Wilson in Watson, and will be, at best, the fifth option every game for the Browns.

He’ll have to sit behind Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, David Njoku, and likely David Bell. Do you really think he’s going to be more at ease in that situation? It’s certainly possible that Moore is very pleased to be in Cleveland and will accept his place on the team. It’s also just as likely, if not more, that he continues to be hard to deal with when things don’t go his way.

The Jets gave up on him for a reason.

• Published on 06/18/2023 at 23:20 PM
• Last updated at 06/18/2023 at 23:20 PM