The Arizona Cardinals finished their much-hyped 2020 by going 8-8, hitting the .500 mark for the first time since 2017. Unfortunately for Arizona Cardinals fans, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury, .500 was not the goal. They hope to get back to their most recent glory days back in the early 2010s, which is probably why they went out and got players who were good then. They added J.J. Watt and A.J. Green in free agency, whose best days are long in the rear-view mirror. The Arizona Cardinals also set themselves up for the 2021 NFL Draft with the addition of Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson to the equation.
Overall, the Arizona Cardinals took just one fantasy football-relevant player in the 2021 NFL Draft class, so let’s break down their newest wide receiver, Rondale Moore out of Purdue.
FULL ARIZONA CARDINALS DRAFT RESULTS
| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 16 | Zaven Collins | LB | Tulsa |
| 2 | 49 | Rondale Moore | WR | Purdue |
| 4 | 136 | Marco Wilson | CB | Florida |
| 6 | 210 | Victor Dimukeje | DE | Duke |
| 6 | 223 | Tay Gowan | CB | UCF |
| 7 | 243 | James Wiggins | S | Cincinnati |
| 7 | 247 | Michal Menet | C | Penn State |
Round 2, Pick 49 Overall: Rondale Moore, Wide Receiver, Purdue (5’7” 180 pounds)
Depth Chart:
WR1: DeAndre Hopkins
WR2: A.J. Green
WR3: Rondale Moore
WR4: Christian Kirk
WR5: Andy Isabella
TALENT
Rondale “Pym Particles” Moore is a little guy, but little guys can succeed at wide receiver if they can do a bit of everything. Moore can do a bit of everything. If you like Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk, then Moore is your guy. Unfortunately, if you like Tavon Austin and Cordarrelle Patterson, he might also be your guy. Moore is a ton of fun to watch and Purdue did everything they could to get the ball into his hands. I am a 49ers fan, so I watched a ton of pop pass jet sweeps to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk the last couple of years… even I was surprised at the number of pop pass jet sweeps to Moore.
Rondale Moore did a ton of other stuff too, as he has great hands and enough speed and agility to beat both man and zone coverages. I like Moore a lot, but he could be Brandon Aiyuk or Tavon Austin. Like Samuel, getting banged up is a concern for Moore, who had his 2019 and 2020 seasons marred by injury. Maybe because he’s five feet, seven inches tall.
Rondale Moore is also stupid athletic, squatting 600 pounds at Purdue and running an unofficial 4.29 40-yard dash.
2021 OPPORTUNITY
Rondale Moore is an interesting piece because he feels like he could exist outside the wide receiver pecking order/structure in Arizona. It wouldn’t shock me to see Moore out-touch A.J. Green by the pure volume of pop passes and handoffs that Moore is likely to get in 2021. He hits the draft pedigree criteria for year-one wide receiver fantasy football viability (top-100 pick), but we need to see how he’s used before we really buy into him. It’s likely he gets a bunch of work in year one as the designated slot guy for Kyler Murray, but it’s also possible he ends up in a Tavon Austin gadget role.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
I’m not super interested in Rondale Moore for 2021 fantasy football, and he isn’t even a top-five rookie wide receiver that I would draft right now before we see how the Cardinals will use him. If he gets a lot of pop as Kyler Murray’s designated slot guy in 2021, I am going to move him up my board, but as of right now, I don’t see myself drafting Moore in 12-team, 15-round drafts. That has nothing to do with his talent level, and everything to do with his opportunity. Should things start to clear up ahead of Moore in the depth chart, or should the Cardinals clarify his opportunity, he makes for a nice sneaky sleeper in deeper drafts.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Earn a Five Goodell grade by checking out these links!
[Header Image Source: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/two-cardinal-birds-on-tree-branch-cardinals-fauna-wild-outdoors-wallpaper-zxqiq under CC BY SA 4.0]
