Seahawks: David Moore will be their next 7th round gem

The Seahawks have done pretty well with late round picks, and it looks like they’ve found another gem in wide receiver David Moore.

I know you’ve read this story before, 12s. We’ll get all worked up and super excited about this kid David Moore, and then the Seahawks will cut him. After all, they cut a guy having a huge preseason last year, so why wouldn’t they cut Moore this year?

Last year, the gem was Kasen Williams. He seemed to show every bit of the promise that Moore has this year. Williams led the Seahawks in receiving during the 2017 preseason with nine catches for 208 yards. His 23.1 yard average was second in the league behind only Jakeem Grant of the Miami Dolphins. He made contested catches so often, last year our own Lee Vowell joked, “In fact, one may start to wonder if he can catch if he is not totally covered.”

Yet Williams was gone after having one of the best preseasons in the league for a wide receiver. So what makes David Moore any different? Through three preseason games, Moore has five catches for 142 yards. That’s a pretty nifty 28.4 yard average. He has four first downs and that sweet touchdown Friday night against the Minnesota Vikings, so every catch has been big. You could say, advantage Moore. Until you see that eight of Williams’ nine catches were for first downs, and he had a touchdown as well. Each of his catches were big time plays, too.

Seattle Seahawks

Ah, perhaps we’ve found a key difference after all. In 2017, Williams didn’t return a single punt or kick. Moore handled three punts that year, but admittedly didn’t show much with an average return of just 4.3 yards. This season has been different. Moore has made three punts returns for 24 yards, a far better average than either J.D. McKissic or Cyril Grayson. That average would be just a bit higher if his slashing 75 yard return for a touchdown against the Vikings hadn’t been called back for holding.

Moore shows every sign he can be a standout on special teams, as well as make spectacular catches. No, Moore won’t break the starting rotation of the wide receivers. He won’t take over return duties from Tyler Lockett, either.

But a guy who can step in and do both jobs well, that’s a valuable asset. Rashaad Penny will likely back up Lockett in the return game, but we’ve already dodged a serious injury for Penny. Lockett is just now getting back to 100 percent health himself, so you can never have too many weapons.

Factor in that Kasen Williams was beginning his third season with the Seahawks in 2017, and it’s a bit easier to see Seattle might not have been completely convinced of his newfound talent. For the record, I still think they should have cut Tanner McEvoy last year and kept Williams. Moore can simply do far more than McEvoy. We can’t change the past, but hopefully the Seahawks won’t make the wrong cut in 2018.

David Moore in superhero mode

Some bonus gifts for you! You can see Moore’s picture perfect catch and spin, skip away from a tackle, and home run trot into the end zone right here. The defensive back could have made a better play, true, but he did have an arm in there. That makes no difference to Moore. And in case you needed another reminder of what he can do in traffic, here’s another look at Moore’s insane catch against the Chargers in week two. If you aren’t reading the great work of @SamuelIRGold on The Athletic, I frankly don’t think there’s much hope for you. Just sayin’.

At this point, I don’t see how Moore doesn’t make the 53 man roster. The Seahawks have shown time and again they care much more about results on the field than they do about expectations going into the season. If that wasn’t the case, seventh round pick Chris Carson would have never gotten the chance to shine. I believe the phrase is “Always Compete”. David Moore is certainly doing that.