Denarius Moore numbers put him in elite company

Denarius Moore has caught a touchdown pass in three straight games. If he catches a touchdown pass next week against the Buccaneers, he will be the first Raider to catch a touchdown pass in four straight games since Tim Brown did it in 2001. That season Tim Brown had a string of five straight games with a touchdown reception.

Tim Brown only put together such a string of games twice in his career. The first time he did it was in 1998 which was his eleventh season in the NFL. The first time Tim Brown had put together a string of three games in a row with a touchdown was 1994-his seventh season in the NFL. Moore is in just his second season.

Denarius also reached a milestone last week. With his first catch of the game, he took the short pass and weaved his way for 58 yards and officially went over the 1000 mark for his young career (1015). He has surpassed the millennium mark in 56 catches. His 18.1 yards per reception is fifth most for a first 1000 yards among active players. The four active players ahead of him are Randy Moss (21.6), Mike Wallace (20.7), Devery Henderson (19.6), and Miles Austin (19.5).

It is Denarius Moore's second season since being chosen in the fifth round by the Raiders out of Tennessee. He has played in exactly 16 games thus far. Not even the great Cliff Branch averaged 18.1 yards per catch over his first 1000 yards. He was known for his yards per catch. He had 18.2 yards per catch in his third season. Fred Biletnikoff didn't surpass 1000 yards until midway through his third season but he did it in 51 catches for a 19.6 yards per catch average.

It took Tim Brown 34 games and 63 receptions to surpass 1000 yards (15.8 ypc). He was also first round pick as was Randy Moss. Devery Henderson was a second round pick and Mike Wallace was a third round pick. Only Miles Austin, who went undrafted, can compare to the draft position of Moore.

Of the other four receivers, only Moss made a early an impact as Moore, reaching 1000 yards 12 games into his rookie season. Moore hit 1000 yards in 16 games which was seven games into his sophomore season. Wallace didn't hit 1000 yards until his 21^st game which was five games into his second season. All the others took until their third or fourth seasons to reach 1000 yards receiving. That is some fantastic early results for a player drafted in any round, let alone a late round.

Denarius is on pace for 1048 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns this season. Who was the last Raider receiver to have at least 1000 yards and 10 TD's in a season? You guessed it, Tim Brown. He had 1128 yards receiving and 11 TD's in the 2000 season. The last Raider receiver to get close to those numbers was also a pretty decent receiver by the name of Jerry Rice who had 1211 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns in 2002. Next on the list would be the aforementioned Randy Moss who had 1005 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2005.

The only other Raiders to every amass those numbers were Todd Christensen, Cliff Branch, and Art Powell.

In just under a season and a half as a Raider, Denarius Moore is already keeping some elite company both in Silver and Black and around the NFL.