Why Joe Flacco compares Jets receiver Elijah Moore to Steve Smith

By Henry McKenna
FOX Sports AFC East Writer

The New York Jets have a true veteran at the receiver position: Corey Davis. But they also have a de-facto veteran, a wily and savvy route-runner whose game is so smooth that it seemed at training camp that he’d been in the NFL for years. 

Elijah Moore has only spent one year in the league, but he’s doing what he can to play like a veteran, because the Jets are stocked with a roster full of young starters.

But when a reporter asked Moore about his experience, the wideout seemed to push back at that word: veteran.

“I’m sorry,” he laughed after hearing the word. “Say that again?”

Moore eventually fielded the question about mentoring first-round pick Garrett Wilson with a more serious answer.

“As far as football, we don’t gotta tell Garrett too much. He naturally does a lot of things that you don’t really have to coach,” Moore said. “I always want to be that blessing to the young guys because that’s what [veterans] did with me, and that’s all I wanted. … By the time he’s playing, you won’t even know who’s young.”

One key to leadership is knowing when nothing is necessary — when someone can thrive without help. Perhaps Moore gets that, just like he seems to have a preternatural understanding for improvising on his routes. His explosiveness and crafty approach have caught the attention of quarterback Joe Flacco, who had a lofty comparison for the young receiver.

“I think of Steve Smith because of how explosive Steve was,” Flacco said when asked about Moore. “Steve didn’t run routes like everybody else did, but he was always in the right spot. I think Elijah has some of that in him. You can kind of feel when he’s open. You might not always get the same depth — he may run the same route several times, completely differently every time. 

“When I played with Steve, he was always in the right spot. He was always in the right timing, and I think Elijah’s there 90 percent of the time. It’s just that last little bit, getting a feel for being in that right spot every time. You know that with a guy like that, with a guy that has his physical abilities, he’s going to be a little different than everyone else, and you have to let him use those superpowers to his advantage.”

Both coach and quarterback seem to be sending Moore the same message about how he can improve. With his unique physical tools, Moore can consistently get open for his quarterback. But he has to make sure he’s getting open in the place where the QB expects his receiver to be. He’s allowed to be inconsistent with how he creates separation if he is consistently in the right place at the right time. That’s the necessary rapport that can make a QB-WR tandem truly great.

“At this point a year ago, he’s swimming, right?” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “There’s just a lot of playbook on him, so this year, much less of that, where he’s lined up, he’s running his routes. He knows exactly what he needs to do. 

“It’s not 100 percent. Some things can be a lot cleaner in terms of his relationship and the trust level with him and the quarterback, where the quarterback is trying to put the ball versus he’s running his route.”

Smith had years of elite production with the Panthers and Ravens. Moore’s rookie season didn’t rival any of Smith’s best years. When looking closer at Moore’s counting stats, there’s room for interpretation and, perhaps, extrapolation. In 11 games played, Moore finished the season with 43 catches for 538 yards and five touchdowns. 

Prior to suffering a season-ending quad injury, he seemed to be catching fire. Over the final six games of his rookie year (including the one in which he suffered the injury), he logged 5.6 catches, 76.5 yards and .83 touchdowns per game. He did that while the Jets rotated quarterbacks from rookie Mike White to free-agency pickup Josh Johnson to Flacco to rookie Zach Wilson. 

No stability? No continuity? No problem.

And that ever-changing quarterback situation is what had led Moore to feel confident about his situation in 2022, when he’s likely to start the season with Flacco and move back to Wilson when he is fully recovered from a knee injury. 

“Last year, I played with — what? — four different quarterbacks,” Moore said. “I’m just ready for what’s coming for me. I feel like the whole team will be ready.”

Moore will serve as a starter alongside Davis and, likely, Garrett Wilson. The position has so much potential. The same is true of the running backs, with youngsters in Michael Carter and Breece Hall, and the offensive line, from tackle Duane Brown to guards Alijah Vera-Tucker and Laken Tomlinson. The question is whether those players can elevate their quarterbacks, with Flacco looking past his prime and Wilson yet to hit his.

Moore’s impressive play and leadership — knowing when to provide guidance and when to simply lead by example — will be an asset to the Jets, but his ability to be adaptable and resilient will arguably be even more important. The Jets may surprise a few teams in the AFC, but they’re not making a Super Bowl run and probably not making a postseason run. They’re still in the rebuilding phase of their franchise cycle. Moore is absolutely one of the players they’re building around.

“He hasn’t even sniffed the surface,” Saleh said, “let alone scratch it, of what we think he’s going to be capable of.”

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.