Kansas City Chiefs receiver Skyy Moore appeared to be on the verge of a breakout season last year.
The 2022 second-round pick was a standout in training camp. Heading into his second season, he seemed more comfortable with the offense and had plenty of opportunity to produce with JuJu Smith-Schuster no longer on the roster.
It never came together. Moore struggled in the Chiefs’ season-opening loss to the Lions, then battled injuries during the final stretch.
In the end, his second season looked almost identical to his first: 21 catches for 244 yards in 2023 after having 22 receptions for 250 yards his rookie campaign.
“Just sometimes, it don’t go the way you planned it to,” Moore said Sunday after the Chiefs practiced at Missouri Western. “So get right back on the horse and keep riding.”
That journey should be different for Moore here in his third season.
The Chiefs made no secret about their offseason plans to upgrade at receiver. They signed Hollywood Brown in free agency, then traded up to take speedster Xavier Worthy in the first round of April’s draft.
Add those pieces to Rashee Rice, and the top end of KC’s receiving group has the potential to rival the best trios in the league.
The newcomers, though, should also change the ask for Moore. For the first two years, the team had Moore working in various roles as a bit of a generalist.
Brown and Worthy’s additions, however, shift Moore to a place at receiver where he can now thrive in the areas he’s best — while also volunteering to do some of the dirty work likely to help the Chiefs more than his fantasy football owners.
For example, Moore is sturdy and strong at 5-10 and 195 pounds, which makes him an ideal candidate for routes over the middle. His low center of gravity makes him difficult to throw off his route, while his quickness means he can still get to the area of the field needed for the team’s overall concept.
Moore’s aptitude in this part of the field should give him chances to get open. But even if he’s not, filling the space he’s supposed to could help attract defenders to open others like Brown or Worthy on their respective routes.
There’s also this: Moore is one of KC’s best blocking options at receiver, especially if asked to get a stalemate on a bigger defender like a linebacker. It might not be a specialty for Brown or Worthy, but it could be an essential way for Moore to contribute during his snaps.
By all indications, Moore seems to be embracing what the Chiefs want to see from him. KC plays three receivers on most downs, and those guys rotate in often.
That would leave plenty of room for Moore to potentially thrive in a secondary role, much like Noah Gray does behind Travis Kelce at tight end.
From a big-picture sense, Moore might also benefit this year from spending extra time this offseason with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The two worked out together in Texas during the spring, and Moore also received many on-field reps with him during team practices in May and June.
“I feel like we are on the same page. We talk. We see it a lot in practice,” Moore said. “He’ll be like, ‘Oh, I see what you were doing.’ I’ll be like, ‘All right, I know you like this.’ So following him in the offseason definitely helped me get to where I’m at with that.”
Moore admitted that syncing up with Mahomes would play a “big factor” with how his season goes. He recalled a conversation with Andy Reid during his rookie year when the Chiefs coach reiterated the same message: “There’s only so much the coaches can do. At the end of the day, you’re out there with 15, so just make sure you and him are on the same page.”
“The more that you develop that relationship,” Moore said, “good things will happen.”
Moore also has focused the last few months on staying healthy. He had a knee injury that put him on injured reserve late in the season, but also said he was dealing with the ailment long before he sat out for it.
This year, he says he’s implemented more stretching and working with trainers while also specializing in weightlifting and cardio to focus on injury prevention.
Moore said he’s most excited to see how all the Chiefs receivers perform this season, describing the group as “stacked.”
“We’ve got everything you want in a receiver room, I feel like,” Moore said. “I think we’ve got one of the best receiving rooms in the league.”
Moore’s part with that will likely be in a more complementary role this year — a reality that could help both team and player if things go as planned.
“I’m just coming in every day the same person, just putting the work in,” Moore said. “I believe once you put the work in, the rest, it’s not up to me. So I just want to focus on what I can control and just keep getting better.”
