Getty Carolina Panthers D.J. Moore has become a must-star fantasy wide receiver.
The Carolina Panthers will play the Tampa Bay Bucs on Thursday night. That means one very important thing, there is little time to decide on whether to start certain players in fantasy. DJ Moore is one of those players.
In Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, Moore finished with seven catches for 76 yards. He was the Panthers leading receiver not named Christian McCaffrey. Heading into a short week against the Bucs, is Moore worth a start in this game?
DJ Moore Fantasy Outlook: Matchup vs. Tampa Bay Bucs
Against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, the Bucs allowed 31 points. This is not a fair criticism given that 14 of them came off two pick sixes by Jameis Winston.
In 2018, the Bucs allowed 259.4 points per game which was 25th in the league. Their secondary was a big problem last season. The Bucs have a whole new coaching staff with Bruce Arians at the helm and Todd Bowles running the defense.
This is Moore’s second season with the Panthers. As a rookie, he finished with 55 catches for 788 yards and two touchdowns. He was second on the team in catches and receiving yards. Devin Funchess is now in Indianapolis so Moore is the clear cut No. 1 receiver on this team.
Cam Newton was 17-for-21 when targeting Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore. Newton was 8-for-16 when targeting everyone else, including 4-for-9 to Greg Olsen.
Moore had a strong outing in Week 1, but did cough up the ball with the Panthers driving. With the Panthers at the Rams’ 41-yard line, Cam Newton found Moore for a first down. As he was fighting for extra yards, the ball was punched out and recovered by the defense.
“I knew it was a live ball, I tried to get on it,” Moore said on the play. “That’s all you can do at that point when somebody’s really coming in at you. I tried to get it. You just got to come back like I did and play with better ball security throughout the game.”
Moore fumbled four times as a rookie, losing three of them. This is not enough of a problem to steer you away from Moore who will be Newton’s No. 1 option out of their wide receivers.
Should You Start or Sit DJ Moore in Week 2?
McCaffrey is going to be the Panthers top receiver most weeks. He is their most dynamic offensive player, but Newton will have to throw to a receiver at some point. This is where Moore comes in. He will receive the most targets outside of McCaffrey, even more than Greg Olsen.
In Week 2, the Panthers got to stay home and play their second straight game at Bank of America Stadium. The home team always has an advantage on Thursday nights. The Panthers should have no problem putting up points in this game.
If Moore is on your fantasy team, he is worth a start in Week 2 against the Bucs. Moore can be viewed as a low end WR2 and high end WR3. If he is on your bench, it would not be the worst idea to plug him into the lineup this week. If your team has two top receivers, Moore is an automatic flex play this week. There is no predicting his exact stats, but expect Moore to get in the end zone on Thursday night.
READ NEXT: Ronald Jones & Peyton Barber Fantasy: Start or Sit Bucs RB’s in Week 2?