WR Santana Moss, Washington Redskins

HT: 5-9, WT: 185, Born: 6-1-1979, College: Miami, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 16

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: D Keller (200), I Redman (201), Santana Moss (202), S Hill (203),
Position: R Randle (191-WR65), A Roberts (198-WR66), Santana Moss (202 - WR67), S Hill (203-WR68), R Woods (205-WR69)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: M Flynn (235), Santana Moss (237), D Rogers (238),
Position: J Edelman (230-WR76), M Wheaton (234-WR77), Santana Moss (237 - WR78), D Rogers (238-WR79), Q Patton (244-WR80)
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - The veteran wideout hauled in three receptions on five targets against the Saints. Moss’s big play came on a Griffin scramble that resulted in a twenty-seven yard gain.

Week 3 - The veteran wideout recorded the Redskins’ lone touchdown through the air against the Bengals on a three-yard pass from Robert Griffin III. It was Moss’s lone reception on three targets. It appears his role in the Kyle Shanahan offense is marginal at best.

Week 4 - Moss’s involvement in the Redskins passing game grew this week, as he caught three passes for thirty-three yards, including a fifteen yard catch-and-run. The veteran possession receiver remains a tertiary option in the Washington air attack, however, as Robert Griffin III looks to Fred Davis, Leonard Hankerson, and Josh Morgan more often. 


Week 5 - Moss thrilled the home crowd with a seventy-seven yard catch and run for the Redskins’ only offensive touchdown of the day. The Falcons’ defensive coverage on Moss’s touchdown was fairly laughable – no safeties dropped back to cover Moss, who caught a strike from Kirk Cousins in the middle of the field and flashed a burst of speed to the end zone. Moss’s reception gave the Redskins a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Moss led the Redskins in receiving with eighty yards on two catches. Through five weeks, Moss leads all Redskins receivers with two receiving touchdowns.

Week 6 - The Vikings were very effective in shutting down the pass. Moss is clearly a step or two slower and has issues breaking separation but most of the issues were because the Vikings managed to shut the pass down. The Redskins, including Moss will bounce back next time out and it’s only a matter of time before a team focuses on Griffin and Morris and the pass opens up a bit more though it will not ever be in the same vein as the Saints or Packers.

Week 7 - Santana Moss only had 3 catches on Sunday but 2 of them went for big touchdown plays. Moss was the recipient of a short screen pass on the outside and he was able to scamper into the endzone for the early touchdown. Moss was aided by outstanding blocking from the Redskins who led the path for the WR. Moss was later able to blow by rookie CB Hosely for the deep touchdown pass. Moss got a step in front of him and got a terrific pass from QB Griffin for the big play. Moss’s only other play came on a pass late on the final drive but he coughed the ball up as a fumble which ended the Redskins chance at a comeback. Moss is benefitting hugely from the massive upgrade at QB the Redskins got in the off season but he still could easily get lost in this offense when/if WR Garcon returns. The Redskins have a strong commitment to the running game with RB Morris having a very successful year also which could further hurt the production of Moss. Moss is sometimes only productive when he is involved with a big play downfield for a touchdown but he still possesses the above average speed that has made him well known in the NFL.

Week 8 - Despite being the “veteran presence” that’s supposed to right the ship and make plays for a struggling team, Moss was the biggest culprit of all with the drops. On a couple occasions, he was working the short middle of the field (perhaps a place he’s not that comfortable with due to spending most of his career running deep routes). And on some of those, he was hit from behind by a fast-closing defender as the ball arrived. But to drop multiple passes in the same game – let alone the same drive – means he wasn’t on his game. Moss will continue to be a preferred “safe” target, though – as evidenced by the trust shown when they called a 4th-and-goal pass for him from the two-yard line. Utilizing Moss on quick-hitters and in the screen game will be the most effective to use Moss going forward. Washington’s offense suits those strengths.

Week 11 - Moss caught one pass, but it was easily the highlight of the game. Completely bracketed as he ran downfield toward the Philadelphia end zone, Moss caught a deep ball from Robert Griffin III and dragged the Eagles covering him for the remaining yardage, resulting in a sixty-one yard pass play and a Redskins touchdown. Admittedly, the play could have also resulted in an interception and a touchback, as Moss had defenders slathered all over him. That Moss was able to bring in the ball and control the catch was a tremendous effort of will and sent FedEx Field into a fever pitch.

Week 12 - Moss remains something of a lucky rabbit’s foot for Robert Griffin III, always there when the rookie quarterback needs him the most. Accumulating a modest forty-two receiving yards on four catches, Moss exhibited some veteran savvy in his most important grab, as six yard touchdown catch. Seeing his young quarterback under pressure, Moss came back to the ball in the end zone and gave Griffin an open man to hit. With coverage around him, Moss managed to keep both feet in bounds and control the catch as the pass traveled behind him. With under ten seconds to go in the second quarter, Moss’s touchdown catch gave the Redskins a twenty-five point advantage over the Cowboys in the first half.

Week 14 - 
With the Redskins no longer in such dire straits at the receiver position that Moss is their go-to pass-catcher, Moss continues to post modest numbers as a secondary option out of the slot. The veteran wideout caught three balls for fifty-two yards through the air, including an impressive thirty-one yard grab on a deep crossing route. His performance against the Ravens made it clear that his skills as a route-runner and pass-catcher have not diminished, but the presence of more physically gifted receivers on the Washington roster makes Moss a tertiary receiver in the air attack. Moss tied Joshua Morgan for third in targets on the team with four.

Week 15 - Moss caught five passes for fifty-seven yards working out of the slot for the Redskins. The veteran wideout ran short crossing routes, slants, and curls as a short option in the Washington passing game. Moss did fumble the ball late in the fourth quarter with the Redskins up ten, but Pierre Garcon recovered the fumble. Moss remains one of the Redskins’ most accomplished route-runners, but at this point his career he is buried on Washington’s depth chart.

Week 16 - The veteran receiver showed his nose for the end zone once again, catching a twenty-two yard pass from Robert Griffin III to put the Redskins up by fourteen late in the third quarter. Running a flag route toward the left side of the Eagles’ end zone, Moss hauled in a perfectly thrown pass from Griffin over his shoulder, all while dragging his left foot to complete the catch. The touchdown was Moss’s eighth score of the year. He finished the game against the Eagles with two receptions for twenty-six yards on three targets, adding twelve yards on the ground off an end-around.

Week 17 - Moss snagged two balls for twenty-two yards on four targets as a secondary option in what passed for the Redskins’ passing game in their Sunday night showdown against the Cowboys. The veteran receiver added one carry for two yards. With Washington having so much success on the ground – and the Cowboys defense relatively gassed from a Week Sixteen overtime game against the Saints – the Redskins opted to run, run, run over Dallas in lieu of putting the ball in the air.


Week 18 - Moss functioned as a short-yardage passing game option for the Redskins, catching three passes for nineteen yards. Redskins quarterbacks targeted Moss five times. On Washington’s penultimate drive, the officiating crew decided not to throw a flag on Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant, whose contact with Moss before the Moss had a chance to make a play on the ball was arguably pass interference.