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WR Randy Moss, New England Patriots

HT: 6-4, WT: 210, Born: 2-13-1977, College: Marshall, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 21

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 29th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: S Slaton (12), D Brees (13), Randy Moss (14), C Johnson (15), B Westbrook (16)
Position: L Fitzgerald (6-WR1), A Johnson (11-WR2), Randy Moss (14 - WR3), C Johnson (15-WR4), R Wayne (21-WR5)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

We saw what Randy Moss could do in a Patriots uniform with a healthy Tom Brady in 2007, and if everything clicks again Moss could approach top-tier numbers. With Joey Galloway added to the mix and an upgraded running game, opponents will continue to take a pick-your-poison approach with who to cover. If Brady has time to throw downfield and his reconstructed knee is sound, Moss will return to being an elite fantasy receiver as long as he’s motivated.

Worst Case

Moss is now in his early 30s and some have alleged that he has lost a step. As always, there is still a spread-the-wealth mentality in New England, and teams could continue to overplay Moss. It started happening at the end of the 2007 season and could return this year.

Outlook

Given that Moss is still chasing a ring and the Patriots have a strong chance at getting one, it's likely that he will stay motivated throughout the season. He developed a great rapport and chemistry working with Brady, and if that magic is still there, he should again be a Top 3 receiver. Even without Brady, Moss ended up as the No. 10 fantasy WR last year - that would be his floor.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

David Yudkin - Moss saw 42% of his fantasy production fall by the wayside last year when Tom Brady went down for the season, dropping from 287 to 167 fantasy points scored last season. If he can recapture only half of that with Brady coming back, that would net Moss 227 fantasy points on the season. That yearend total would have ranked Moss as the top fantasy wide receiver each of the past three years. The Patriots may not be record breaking again and Moss may not have 23 TD, but the Brady and Moss connection remains the primary cog in the New England offense.

2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Despite his starting QB going down early in the first quarter, Moss still managed to have the game we expected him to have. Nearly half of his yards came on a 51 yard strike that Moss caught in stride, while his sole TD came on a sloppily thrown spiral that he snatched out of the air with ease. He also fumbled the ball on the very same play that Brady went down with his knee injury.

Week 2 - Moss was not a big part of the offense for the Patriots as the team played very conservatively on offense. QB Matt Cassel did heave one bomb for Moss but the release was not clean and Moss could not hold onto the wobbly ball.

Week 3 - It almost seemed like the Patriots were forcing the ball to Randy Moss when it was thrown to him, and when it was thrown to him it wasn't thrown very accurately. The reason for Cassel's affinity for getting Moss the ball and being off target when he does may be because of the attention that Moss has been garnering on nearly every play. The four passes Moss did catch were for short yardage and he finished the day with 6.3 yards per reception average. The week four bye can only help matters, because it's also looked like Cassel and Moss need some quality football bonding time.

Week 5 - WR Randy Moss caught a 66 yard touchdown pass from QB Matt Cassel when the closest defender to him stumbled to the ground. He pulled away from the other defenders trying to cover him. On two catches, Moss elected to jump out of bounds rather than fight for extra yardage or meet contact. He was also whistled for a holding penalty that nullified a 15 yard first down reception by WR Wes Welker

Week 6 - It's difficult to say who the bigger culprit in the game was. Was Matt Cassel to blame for not getting the ball to Randy Moss? Or was Moss to blame for failing to give maximum effort at times? Whatever the case, it's obvious that Moss was unable to take advantage of a pass defense that has been absolutely shredded by previous visitors. Moss almost caught two long passes from Cassel, but CB Quentin Jammer made fine defensive plays on both to knock the ball away. Later, Moss got open against CB Antonio Cromartie in the end zone, but the pass was well off the mark and fell incomplete. Moss didn't seem particularly upset by the loss, as he was seen laughing on the sidelines late in the game. That isn't typically something to read into with most players, but because of recent news about Moss' lack of motivation it's certainly something to keep an eye on. Moss owners have to be concerned by the team's complete lack of cohesion on the offensive side of the ball, and no player is suffering from it more than Moss.

Week 7 - Moss had trouble early on as he was blanketed by Denver CB Champ Bailey, but the wide receiver heated up after Bailey left the game with an injury. Taking advantage of a depleted secondary, the New England wide receiver made four of his five catches and scored both of his touchdowns after Bailey was on the sideline. On his first touchdown reception of the game, Moss went up for a high pass and brought it down in the end zone to give the Patriots a 17--0 lead. His second score came when he took a short pass on a wide receiver screen and sprinted through the secondary for a 27 yard score.

Week 8 - This is not the Randy Moss we are used to seeing. No jump balls, no real deep attempts of any kind in fact. Moss instead proved adept at taking short passes and turning them into longer gains. Though he went without a touchdown, he was targeted three times in the end zone -- one a glaring drop that was very uncharacteristic -- and five of his seven catches were for first downs.

Week 9 - WR Randy Moss was not even targeted in the first half. His first catch in the second half was only for a yard but eventually QB Matt Cassel was able to work him into the action.

Week 10 - Not a particularly productive game by Moss standards but he continued to stretch the field all afternoon. Two passes were defended in the end zone and another drew a personal foul penalty. He is always a threat to score and helped to open up the field for Welker and other receivers.

Week 11 - Moss did not make a reception until the first play of the third quarter. He and Cassel struggled with their deep routes as he was often over thrown. Moss drew double cover the entire game was being jammed at the line of scrimmage and this effective. On the last play of the game for some reason the Jets gave Moss a free release and single coverage. It cost them a clutch 16 yard touchdown catch from Moss. This last play rescued Moss owners from a potentially poor stat line.

Week 12 - Moss was worth the price of admission to this game. He made a number of highlight reel worthy catches while scoring three touchdowns and moving to third on the list of all time reception touchdown leaders. The Dolphins chose to try to cover him with single coverage often and Moss made them pay.

Week 13 - Moss was subjected to very physical play from the Steelers for most of the game. While one play did draw a pass interference call, other times Moss seemed to feel the defenders and that resulted in more than one dropped pass. One was potentially a long gainer and another was a possible touchdown. His longest reception was 27 yards on his first catch, but was largely quiet after that. Moss's very inconsistent season has caused some to question his elite #1 receiver status .His is limited by his still inexperienced quarterback.

Week 14 - Moss was targeted ten times in the game, and he finished with three receptions for 56 yards. Two of his targets came on third downs, and three of his receptions resulted in first downs.

Week 15 - WR Randy Moss excelled against his former team by catching two touchdowns during the resounding victory. Moss showboated for the booing fans after his first score.

Week 16 - Moss had a sub-par first-half dropping two long passes that could have easily gone for touchdowns. He redeemed himself on the first play of the second half, when he took a quick screen 76 yards for the Patriots' fifth touchdown on the day. It was Moss's 11 touchdown of the year, and the Patriots' longest touchdown pass of the season. He went untouched in the end zone.

Week 17 - Moss wasn't much of a factor during the game with only one reception for 13 yards. He did however, as Randy Moss always does, draw extra defenders to open up the rest of the field for the other Patriots receivers.