CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Sometimes a change of scenery is all a young player needs to grow.
Receiver Elijah Moore believes Wednesday’s trade from the New York Jets, who picked him 34th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, to the Cleveland Browns will do just that for him.
Not even the prospect of Aaron Rogers heading to the Big Apple can alter his feelings.
“All I know is I'm a Cleveland Brown and I'm super excited to be here,” Moore said during his Zoom introduction with reporters Thursday.
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Moore, who expressed his gratitude to the Jets for drafting him, is especially thrilled to be a Brown because of quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“He's a legit quarterback,” Moore said. “It's someone that has been doing some amazing things around the league. He has respect from everybody around the league. They talk really highly about him here and they believe in him, and man, with him being my quarterback, I believe in him too.
So, I'm just grateful to be one of his guys.”
Moore spoke with Watson on Wednesday shortly after the trade where they expressed their excitement about being able to team up.
The Browns knew they needed to add speed and dynamic playmaking ability to their receiver corps this offseason to help out the mobile and dynamic Watson, whom they gave up six draft picks including three first rounders last March for.
Enter Moore.
“When someone who’s as mobile as him, people fear with his legs as well, it just adds another element just to the whole game,” Moore said. “And you've been seeing that with what he does already… the games that he's already played in. So I'm just super excited to be part of someone that can run, throw, do pretty much everything.”
Moore’s sophomore season with the Jets was consumed with frustrations over his role and lack of opportunities following a strong rookie season that saw him catch 43 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns.
Moore requested a trade during last season and the Browns tried to land him before the deadline but the two teams couldn’t reach an agreement in time setting up Wednesday’s trade.
“They had their eyes on me and it feels good to be wanted,” Moore said.
Moore ended up catching 37 passes for 446 yards and a touchdown last season, but as he looks back on the situation, he has no regrets.
“I feel like I'm here for a reason, so whatever happens, I'm going to be ready for it,” Moore said. “People go through things and you got to learn from it. I feel like I'm the type of person that learns from my mistakes. You see what I'm saying? We're all human, so I'm just going to try to do what I feel like I could've done better last year in whatever position I'm going to be in now.”
Moore will get to play against his former team – twice, well, sort of – this year. The Browns and Jets will meet in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio to kick off the preseason and then the two teams will square off again during the regular season at FirstEnergy Stadium.
To say he’s looking forward to it would be an understatement.
“Oh yeah, man, of course,” Moore said. “I feel like always those type of games are what people look for, but I treat every game the same.
The way I'm attack them is the way I'm attack every single game I want to kill.”
Stability is another reason Moore is happy to be a Brown.
In two years in New York, Moore caught passes from Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White and Josh Johnson.
Now teamed with Watson in Cleveland, the QB carousel he dealt with in New York coms to a stop.
“I grew up in Florida and I feel like we have the mindset of kind of it doesn't matter who's back there,” Moore said. “So I kind of had to shift that a little bit because it does as far as chemistry. But man, if you put yourself in a position to throw with anybody and just put your trust in them – cause that's initially what it is. It really is trust. So if you trust them and they trust you, you can get anything done.
“Going through four quarterbacks I feel like was just a huge blessing for me because I got to see what that's like, and now with being with someone like Deshaun, it'll just make life way easier.”