Denarius Moore listed among AFC most overrated

Oakland Raider fans have become enamored with their young receiver, Denarius Moore. And rightfully so. He lit it up in training camp and by midseason, he was the favorite target of Carson Palmer. He is now pegged to be the team's number one receiver. But according to KC Joyner of ESPN, less is Moore.

He has the second year phenom listed among his most overrated players in the AFC. Here is his reasoning behind Moore's inclusion to the list:

Denarius Moore, WR, Oakland Raiders

Moore burst onto the NFL scene as rookie by posting a 14.5 SVYPA that ranked 13th out of 30 wide receivers that posted at least 20 stretch vertical targets. Moore totaled 50 vertical targets, a number that placed him in a four-way tie for 28th place among wide receivers in that metric. The three wideouts he was tied with? Mike Wallace, Greg Jennings and Julio Jones, all three of whom are terrific vertical targets.

The problem for Moore is that he has yet to display any type of ability to beat tough competition. As noted in my 2012 fantasy football guide, when Moore was covered by red- or yellow-rated cornerbacks (the two best cornerback ratings), he was a non-factor. His 4.0 YPA against that coverage level was 46th out of 47 wide receivers with at least 30 targets under the same circumstances.

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This idea that Moore has elite receiving skills but disappears is not new. He had the same issue in college. It was one of the main reasons he dropped to round five of the draft. He would have games in which he would go over 200 yards and other games in which he was invisible from the offense.

It remains to be seen if Moore can carry the mantle of a number one receiver. He will be given every opportunity next season.

The other players on the overrated list for the AFC were:

Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Cincinnati Bengals

Champ Bailey, CB, Denver Broncos

D'Brickashaw Ferguson, T, New York Jets

Joe Haden, CB, Cleveland Browns

Among the NFC most overrated include two former Raiders Michael Bush and Nnamdi Asomugha.

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