Elijah Moore’s former teammate A.J. Brown and new quarterback Zach Wilson react to the New York Jets’ selection of the Ole Miss receiver.
When Elijah Moore came to the University of Mississippi as a freshman in 2018, future Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown was entering his junior season, about to embark on a marvelous 85-catch season that would set him up to be taken by Tennessee with the 51st overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
Beginning his career in the shadow of Brown and fellow future NFL-er D.K. Metcalf (who was taken 64th overall by Seattle in 2019), Moore actually managed to carve out a role as a true freshman, catching 36 passes for 398 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games.
With Brown and Metcalf out the door in 2019, Moore took over as Ole Miss’ go-to guy, leading the Rebels with 850 receiving yards and 70.8 receiving yards per game as a sophomore. He took another leap in 2020 as he recorded 1,193 receiving yards and 149.1 receiving yards per game.
Fast forward to 2021, and Moore found himself being selected earlier in the draft than both of the future Pro Bowlers that he once played with, as the New York Jets drafted him with the 34th overall pick.
A.J. Brown was alongside Moore when he got the call from Joe Douglas and the Jets’ brass on Saturday night, and the Titans superstar was emotional about his former roommate.
Titans star WR AJ Brown shed tears after his Ole Miss teammate Elijah Moore got taken by the Jets.
This is so real. @brgridiron
(via @1kalwaysopen_) pic.twitter.com/B2W0HV7e4x
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 1, 2021
Brown, who surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his first two NFL seasons, told Moore, “You’re way better than me, bro. The sh*t you do, I’m still trying to do.”
“The sky’s not the limit for you, bro. You can go as far as you wanna go.”
To fulfill that limitless potential, Moore will need to build chemistry with the Jets’ new franchise quarterback, Zach Wilson. The BYU product is already getting familiarized with his fellow rookie’s game, sharing a snapshot of himself watching Elijah Moore highlights on YouTube (courtesy of the famous highlight channel JustBombsProductions).
.@Michael_Nania @CYJpod Breaking: Zach Wilson is a JustBombs talent evaluator. pic.twitter.com/FH5LdHBkII
— 𝙕𝙖𝙘𝙠🥊 (@PrettyyFIacko) May 3, 2021
Prior to their selections of Wilson and Moore, the Jets had never taken a quarterback and a wide receiver within the first two rounds of the same draft. The youngsters make up one of the most intriguing duos of offensive rookies in team history.
