Buffalo Bills David Nelson and Oakland Raiders Denarius Moore Impressing

Two young wide receivers were on prominent display Sunday when the Bills and Oakland Raiders had an old fashioned shoot out in Buffalo. Two young players stepped up for once proud (and winning franchises) with big performances to showcase to the league that they have arrived. The Buffalo Bills have been so impressed with their young WR corps, players like David Nelson and Donald Jones that they traded veteran WR Lee Evans this past off-season to open room in the starting lineup for David Nelson. The Bills have proclaimed all training camp and preseason that they haven’t had as much depth at WR (and talent) in a long, long time. On Sunday that was on display. This could not come at a better time as the Bills and talented WR Stevie Johnson are far apart on a contract renegotiation.

The 6-5 David Nelson stated to come on strong at the end of last year and ended the season with 31 catches for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns and is off to a good start this year. Nelson had 10 catches vs Oakland on Sunday with a big touchdown. He has 14 catches so far this season for 149 yards. The 6’5 215 pounder former Florida Gator has found a home with the Buffalo Bills and has helped make Ryan Fitzpatrick a QB that the Bills might consider as a franchise option for the foreseeable future. Considering picking him up in your fantasy league if you haven’t already.

For Oakland training camp sensation and fifth round pick Denarius Moore absolutely stole the shown on Sunday. With the top three Raiders WR hurt (Louis Murphy, Darrius Heyward Bey, and Jacoby Ford) and out of the game, Moore stepped up his game. Moore had been a preseason sensation…coaches profusely cited his play as ‘first round caliber’, and seems to have carried that over into the regular season. The much maligned Al Davis may yet be rectified if Moore continues his play. It is no secret the Raiders covet speed at the skill positions (or all positions even) and Moore was another example of the Raiders “reaching” to grab a fast player. But he has been impressive. On Sunday he showed excellent body control as he leaped for a few passes and wrestled the ball away from the defender. He made some very difficult catches in route to a 5 catch a 146 yard day (a whopping 29.2 yards per reception). The 6’0 195 pound Moore looks like quite a find for the Raiders and if he continues his play the Raiders WR corps will actually look pretty good this season (Jacoby Ford is a nice player in his own right), even if they lack a true #1 WR threat ,and I’m not ready to call Moore that quite yet.

Hopefully young players like this will transform two laughing stocks into perennial contenders because the league is just better when teams like Buffalo and the Raiders are in Superbowl contention.

Fantasy purposes: Should you add these players? Yes to David Nelson. Roscoe Parrish is out for the season and Stevie Johnson is banged up. On top of that Gailey is renowned for his ability to put up impressive stats irregardless of his personnel.

For Moore: Maybe. Only if you’re in a deeper league. In the first week when Jacoby Ford was healthy the Raiders made it a point of emphasis to get him the ball. They still want to use Hewyard Bey and Murphy might still be their number one WR. On top of that, unlike the BIlls, the Raiders really want to pound the football on the ground. Opportunities for Moore might be more limited than you’d like to rely on for your fantasy team, especially in a standard league.

Home/NFL Draft