Last year, there were high hopes for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore. Drafted toward the end of the second round, the Chiefs had a lot invested in Moore compared with the rest of the team's remade wide receiver room, which also included JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, among others.
Moore's contributions in his first season were fairly muted, though. He caught 22 of 33 passes thrown his way for just 250 yards, and played only 29% of the team's offensive snaps. Moore caught five passes for 17 yards during Kansas City's Super Bowl run, including a four-yard touchdown on a beautifully-designed play in the victory over the Eagles.
Coming into Year 2, the depth chart around Moore is actually a bit more crowded despite Smith-Schuster's departure. Kansas City acquired Kadarius Toney last season, signed another former Giants wideout in Richie James, and also drafted Rashee Rice this year.
Still, the second-year receiver apparently stood out during the offseason program.
"Skyy was one of the higher-targeted receivers," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said during minicamp, per The Athletic. "He had close to the most catches. I think he's taking a good jump. The quarterback trusts him. There's still a ton of room to climb. He's so willing, though."
As for Moore himself, he insists that he made an effort to gain said quarterback's trust. "Coming into Year 2, I definitely have the hang of everything, just knowing the playbook, what [Patrick Mahomes] likes, coach Reid likes," Moore said earlier in June. "I knew what I needed to improve on. I found that out early in the season last year. I've been waiting for a long time because I knew what to correct. "I just want to show [Mahomes], 'If you look this way, you won't be mad.' I'm going to be a reliable weapon for him."
That effort appears to have been successful.
"Skyy is a great player, and I think you could see it at the end of last year, how he was picking the (plays) up and making big plays," Mahomes said. "That just transitioned right into this [offseason]. He's someone that's going to be called upon more, kind of in that same role that probably JuJu [Smith-Schuster] was in. He can also go over the top and make plays happen."
