Rondale Moore experiment isn’t working for the Arizona Cardinals

The second-round selection that the Arizona Cardinals used on wideout Rondale Moore is looking like another wasted draft pick

All throughout the offseason, the Arizona Cardinals were predicting big things for wide receiver Rondale Moore. The former Purdue University product was coming off of a disappointing rookie campaign, but the Cards firmly believed that Moore would progress substantially in his second NFL season.

That plan was put on hold when Moore suffered a fairly-serious hamstring injury just three days before Arizona’s week 1 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. The setback would cost the youngster three games, with Moore finally making his return to the playing field this past Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

With the spotlight squarely on him, Moore failed to shine during the Cards’ 26-16 victory over the Panthers. The 5 foot 7, 180 pounder hauled in just three passes for a measly 11 yards. For those who are keeping track, that translates into an ugly 3.6 yards-per-reception for the speedy wideout.

Moore’s one and only rushing attempt of the afternoon was also a complete failure. Halfway through the opening quarter, the Cardinals elected to go for it on a fourth-down and one from Carolina’s 10-yard line. The play ended in disaster, however, when Panthers defensive end Brian Burns burst through the line and threw Moore for a four-yard loss.

Arizona Cardinals may need to admit that Rondale Moore was a mistake

When Moore was sidelined during the first three weeks, Arizona turned to another diminutive pass-catcher to help pick up the slack. Greg Dortch, a 5 foot 7, 175 pounder who joined the team in 2021, was certainly up to the challenge. In his three appearances as a stand-in for Moore, the 24-year old Dortch racked up 20 receptions, 198 receiving yards and a touchdown.

In all honesty, those are numbers that Moore could probably only dream of as a professional. Any Cards fan would have to admit that Dortch is a much more valuable contributor at the present time. The fact that Moore was allotted 65 offensive snaps versus Carolina, while Dortch was on the field for a mere 27 plays, could be looked at as a blatant miscalculation by the Redbirds coaching staff.

Arizona struggled to find a suitable role for the potentially-dynamic Moore last season, and this past weekend appeared to be no different. The Cardinals need to admit that the 22-year old may have been a mistake. and that the underrated Dortch is a much-better option for the “Air Raid” scoring attack going forward.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)