Bills Mafia should temper expectations about DJ Moore

Last season, one of the biggest complaints about the Buffalo Bills’ roster was the lack of a true number-one wide receiver. While free agency and the draft are coming, president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane didn’t feel like waiting to address the need. Instead, Beane decided to make a trade for Chicago Bears’ wide receiver DJ Moore.

We’ll let the conversation on contract and assets used to acquire him sit with other articles. For this one, let’s check in to see if he’s a WR1 or not.

The Film

With my new-look 2026 format we cut right to the chase, so here’s my verdict. I do feel DJ Moore can be the WR1, but that comes with some qualifiers. If you define “WR1” as true top-tier player who can take over games, I don’t know if I believe he matches that definition. If the definition is closer to a player who sets the bar on his own team and must always be accounted for by the other team, that’s what I mean.

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Moore has very good speed, but not to the point where it’s all you’d talk about. He’s not as polished of a route runner as Stefon Diggs was with Buffalo. He’s not as shifty as Stevie Johnson was. He won’t be mistaken for Hines Ward when he’s blocking. I think you get the idea. Moore is a very good Jack of all trades though, and should elevate the talent level for the Bills.

My bottom line is this: The cost is behind us and old news, and DJ Moore is a very good player who should be fun to watch with quarterback Josh Allen.

Play notes

1. I wanted a play to illustrate that the Bears lined Moore up pretty much everywhere, and I can’t think of a better way to show than the “not remotely rare” tendency to have him start in the backfield. This particular play doesn’t allow Moore as an outlet valve to shine, but this does suggest some possibilities.

2. If we’re going to let James Cook again, then run blocking is important. I didn’t see anything that wowed me, but there’s also no concerns. Moore is a capable and willing blocker.

3. I chose arguably Moore’s worst game this last season, against the New York Giants , deliberately to see where failure points might be occurring. His zero catches on four targets was a clear low point on the season but there was no singular cause. It’s possible this ball was misplaced or Moore chose the wrong path to take for this exact miss.

4. This isn’t exactly a crazy route from Moore, but it does show the possibility of having a receiver than can work within the framework. I like the timing on this as the associated defenders can’t clue in to who might be getting the ball based on the turn. This keeps it man on man, which can factor into RAC.

5. Like I said, Moore is not the best you’ll ever see at any one thing, but he does a lot of things at a high level.

6. If there was one, single thing that really stood out with Moore, it was his ability to not decelerate. He has to leap and pluck this ball out of the air and when he hits the ground he’s still at full speed.

7. This is pretty high-speed for pre-snap motion and Moore nails the curve to get to the sideline. A play like this timed well (and blocked well by the line) could be a pretty big deal.

8. More unrealized possibilities for this play. The move Moore makes created space against two defenders. Some timing would be critical from the passer, but I think Josh Allen has a little bit of ability to throw the football.

9. I always prefer to end on a high note.