TE Tony Moeaki, Kansas City Chiefs

HT: 6-3, WT: 245, Born: 6-8-1987, College: Iowa, Drafted: Round 3

2013 Projections

Outlook

Tony Moeaki has been put on notice by the new regime in Kansas City and he'll need a strong offseason to remain in the mix. First the team signed Anthony Fasano from Miami to bolster the team's run blocking at the tight end position. Then they drafted Travis Kelce in the third round of the draft. Moeaki's career got off to a promising start with 47 catches for 556 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie but an injury cost him all of 2011 and he's not been the same player since. After missing a portion of the preseason with injuries, Moeaki got off to a slow start in 2012 and finished with only one score all of last season. Fasano's blocking is going to keep him in the game when the Chiefs use two tight ends so Moeaki will have to beat out the rookie to see significant time.

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Tony Moeaki had more yardage and more targets than Kevin Boss, but he hurt the team more than he helped. His drop of a third quarter Cassel pass really opened the flood gates when it bounced into the hands of the Falcons defender. His receptions were plays that would be made by most tight ends, where he was not tightly covered and Cassel made good throws.

Week 2 - Moeaki saw some time in 2-TE sets early but saw most of his action after starter Kevin Boss left the game with a head injury. Cassel had trouble hooking up with him, however, as several of the 4 targets thrown his way were off target and he finished with just 1 catch for 9 yards.

Week 3 - Moeaki had two short catches underneath but was swarmed by defenders on both catches and unable to pick up additional yardage.

Week 4 - Despite Matt Cassel hoisting up 42 pass attempts, Moeaki caught just three short passes in the game and none near the goal line. He wasn’t a very active part of the gameplan for a second straight week, and Moeaki appears to be the fifth or sixth option at best in the passing game.

Week 5 - A complete non-factor, even in the absence of Kevin Boss. The Chiefs simply didn’t throw the ball that often and Moeaki spent most of the day as a blocker.

Week 6 - Moeaki did not see nearly as many targets as Steve Maneri, though he made an athletic snag on a low pass in the third quarter, turning it into an 18 yard gain and a first down.

Week 8 - Finishing with fifty-seven yards on four catches, Moeaki had his best game of the 2012 season against the Raiders. Leading all Chiefs in hurried checkdown targets from Brady Quinn and Matt Cassel, Moeaki proved to be a valuable contributor on offense as he routinely found openings up the seam. He did haul in a well-thrown twenty-yard strike from Cassel, but Moeaki’s smoothest play came on a crucial third down with the Chiefs down by ten. In line to block, Moeaki spotted Cassel leaving the pocket and followed him down the field, releasing from the line of scrimmage. With Cassel on the run, Moeaki got open and caught a ten-yard pass to get the Chiefs a critical first down.

Week 9 - Despite Kansas City’s reliance on the short passing game, Moeaki didn’t catch a single pass in the game and was never heard from after the opening kick.

Week 10 - Moeaki's first reception came on a hard play-action that freed him down the right sideline. He evaded the attempted tackle from Ryan Clark before continuing down the field. Moeaki dropped a pass on third down that would have converted for a first down deep in Chiefs' territory. He couldn't coral the football under pressure from Lawrence Timmons. Moeaki's second catch of the game came on the Chiefs' final drive when he came free over the middle and made a good diving reception. Moeaki caught a deep out straight after for a first down. Moeaki proved to be Matt Cassel's go-to-guy on the Chiefs' final drive, but when he caught an out route to put the Chiefs' in field goal range, he was hit with a very harsh pass interference call.

Week 11 - Moeaki led the team in receptions and yardage and did most of his damage in the seam. His first reception was a quick post and he hurdled a defender for a 22 yard gain. He made a great leaping catch in the seam in the second quarter and took a brutal hit but held on on nearly the same play in the 4th.

Week 12 - Moeaki’s two catches were both wide open within five yards of the line of scrimmage and involved long runs with virtually no defenders in the area.

Week 13 - Tony Moeaki was the target of a pair of Brady Quinn play action passes in the first half as he reeled in a corner route for 20 yards and later, a 19-yard catch down the seam. Moeaki was also the target of a goal line play action shot that resulted in a touchdown. He managed to sneak behind the safety after a well-executed fake by Quinn.

Week 14 - Moeaki’s only catch was a 10 yard grab underneath a very deep zone. He was hit immediately.

Week 15 - Tony Moeaki made a terrific catch on a hospital pass over the middle, reeling in the football over his shoulder as an onrushing safety tackled him in the midsection. He was targeted 10+ yards downfield in the fourth quarter on a couple of occasions late in the game as the Raiders went into a shell coverage, but he had little meaningful involvement overall, as the Chiefs’ passing attack was nonexistent.

Week 17 - Moeaki led all Chiefs receivers with twenty-one yards receiving through the air on four targets. Denver had three running backs gain more yards on the ground. Quarterback Brady Quinn missed Moeaki when the tight end ran a drag route, uncovered, in the front of the end zone in what would have been an easy score. Quinn later overthrew Moeaki on a second quarter go route towards the Denver end zone. Moeaki has the football acumen and physical skills to be a solid pass-catching tight end, but the Chiefs need to improve at the quarterback position to fully realize Moeaki’s value.