Why the DJ Moore trade is a win for the Buffalo Bills
Nobody will remember what this cost the Bills come January when a potential game-winner flutters downfield. Brandon Beane was overdue for a gamble like this.
NFL Free Agency is closing in. Trades are already flying. We’ll have you covered in full at Go Long. In addition to all stories, we’re going to try something new. On Monday — starting at noon (EST) — tune into the Substack app for a live podcast analyzing everything in real time.
I’ll be joined by my co-host on “Real Football,” longtime NFL scout/exec Jim Monos.
All you need to do is download the Substack app and turn on notifications.
Subscribers can ask questions and interact through the frenzy.
One ball traveled 63 yards in the air at Orchard Park, NY. One ball, 58 yards in Chicago, Ill. Both wide receivers were in advantageous 1-on-1 matchups and required to do the same exact thing: cradle an over-the-shoulder catch.
The two plays are strikingly similar in aesthetics and level of difficulty with the stakes sky high.
Each receiver attended the University of Maryland.
Each was traded in the prime of their career for this moment.
The first receiver, Stefon Diggs, dropped the ball with 8:16 left in the 2023 AFC divisional round. A catch could’ve set the Buffalo Bills on a Super Bowl warpath. Instead? A legendary moment slipped through Diggs’ hands and he held his index finger and thumb about an inch apart as if he was thisclose. Buffalo lost.
The second receiver, DJ Moore, outmuscled Green Bay cornerback Keisean Nixon for an overtime touchdown this past season. Soldier Field erupted as he laid suspended on that Bermuda grass in state of disbelief before popping up to tear off his helmet with a rebel yell. Moore’s catch propelled Chicago to an NFC North title. Into the playoffs, he then caught another game-winner against the Packers.
A team taking up permanent residency on the Super Bowl doorstep should filter out all players (and coaches) incapable of rising up in this playoff moment and then prioritize individuals who deliver.
For most of the last decade, this franchise has been fighting for those precious inches.
This offseason, thee Bills didn’t wait around for dominoes to fall.
Go Long is your home for longform. Subscribers can access everything.
They’ll send the Chicago Bears a second-round pick and get a fifth back, while also paying Moore $73.5 million over three years with a team option in 2029. That’s $24.5 million per year for a player who’s immediately the best wide receiver on the team. He’ll make less than what the top 15 players at the position earn. We’re all capologists in 2026, which means the pitchforks were out immediately over this compensation.
Time will tell. President of football ops Brandon Beane got a sense for the market during Combine Week in Indianapolis. Rather than enter the Alec Pierce sweepstakes (and potentially lose), rather than deal firsts and/or seconds for A.J. Brown and rather than target lower-tier options like Romeo Doubs or Rashid Shaheed, he viewed Moore as a missing piece. And pounced. The Bills absolutely could not be left empty-handed by Tuesday AM. Honestly? I was surprised by the instant blowback. This is exactly the sort of move the Bills have been lacking the last few seasons. Beane is justly criticized for not trading premium picks for players like, say, those maverick Los Angeles Rams.
If DJ Moore is everything the Bills need, nobody will give a damn what it cost to get him. Few will even remember.
Many times, Beane has noted his mentality on a golf course, and life. “I’m a lot of things,” the GM says, “but scared ain’t one of them.” This qualifies. This isn’t scrambling for Kelvin Benjamin or Amari Cooper on the fly.
The conversation should be less about compensation and more about, “Can DJ Moore still play?”
I’d wager yes.
Buffalo is active. Two days later, the Bills secured center Connor McGovern. NFL Network reports the deal at four years, $52 million ($32M guaranteed).
A few rapid-fire thoughts on the deal for Moore….
It’s the 60th overall selection. Not all picks in the second round are the same. History shows a major difference between receiver talent available in the 60s and the 30s. And even if it was the top of the second, Beane has gone that route with Coleman. It hasn’t quite panned out! For a team that’s made the playoffs in eight of nine years, what’s already proven is most valuable.
Moore can play in the frigid cold and snow. Many receivers cannot.
Moore excels on second reaction. See this TD in heavy traffic vs. Cleveland, a play that drew comps to “The Catch.” Last season, Josh Allen severely lacked a weapon who can leak free when he breaks the pocket.
Moore has produced on bad offenses. He caught 98 balls on a ’24 Bears team in disarray. He strung together three straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Panthers. His quarterbacks those seasons include Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater and the shell of Cam Newton.
He’s familiar with Joe Brady. They were together for two seasons. Worth noting that Brady once managed to get Moore, Robbie Anderson, Curtis Samuel and running back Mike Davis all over 1,000 yards apiece with Bridgewater at QB. (“He might open it up this year,” Moore told Matt Harmon of Yahoo! Sports, “and go Bombs over Baghdad.”)
Steve Smith loves the trade for Buffalo. Nobody should ever disagree with Steve Smith.
Last season’s numbers are somewhat deceiving.
A surge of angst is understandable upon looking at that stat line. Moore posted career lows in receptions (50) and receiving yards (682) last season and now turns 29 in May. Despite those breathtaking highs, Moore never established chemistry with Caleb Williams. The Bears quarterback grew to lock into younger options — Rome Odunze (90 targets), Colston Loveland (80), Luther Burden (60). This trade makes sense for Ben Johnson’s crew, too. He wants to see these three get more opportunities on their rookie deals.
Watch Chicago week-in, week-out and you’ll see Moore getting open. He doesn’t move like a creaky has-been about to slip off the wide receiver cliff.
Moore is a 6-foot-0, 213-pound receiver who can be weaponized closer to the line of scrimmage and win outside. The intrigue’s in his ability to go bombs away.
When Brady interviewed for the Bills job, he cited trends and how the NFL shifted from spread to more 12 (two tight ends) and 13 (three) personnel in ‘24 and ‘25. Lighter boxes means smashing away with more muscle. The two best teams in the league, Seattle and L.A., both loved going heavy. But nothing in the NFL stays the same. All of the sport’s brightest minds are spending these seven months plotting for the next evolution — Brady included. And the Bills liked that Brady vowed to stay a step ahead. He anticipates a potential swing back to more 11 and 10 looks with another weapon or two. Defenses are getting smarter at making their one-high safety designs look like two-high shells.
The Bills need to sense that one-high safety… and attack. Moore is savvy enough and still fast enough to cash in on such downfield opportunities.
Sean McDermott had a dominant voice in how weekly gameplans were devised.
Brady didn’t demean his former boss at all. But it was obvious he would’ve done things different.
“He talked about more downfield passing and that’s on me,” Beane told us. “I’ve got to make sure I got the right pieces to do that, too.”
Every offense should strive to create an NBA-like Starting 5 conglomeration of receiving talent. Different weapons with different body types who all do different things help you evolve amid the great innovation race. You don’t pigeonhole your offense into one scheme. Adding Moore is a step in the right direction. Nor do I think the Bills are finished. Whether it’s free agency or the draft, they’ll likely add another wideout because — despite all podium pleasantries — the Bills cannot completely bank on Coleman being a Top 3 option.
That’d be a welcomed development. Perhaps Moore can show Coleman how to set multiple alarms on his iPhone and change up the ringtone to ensure he doesn’t subconsciously tap snooze. If anyone can help Coleman grow up, it’s him. His reputation is strong around the NFL. He’ll set a professional tone inside this room.
Bigger picture, the Bills should’ve been drafting more wide receivers to grow with Allen. Getting cost-controlled receiving options on the payroll is invaluable. Yet from ’22 to ’25, Beane only selected Khalil Shakir (No. 148 overall) and Coleman (No. 33). All while signing Jamison Crowder, Deonte Harty, Trent Sherfield, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Josh Palmer and Elijah Moore in free agency and trading for Cooper.
This was an opportunity missed. But Moore is on a different level than all the above.
After seven years of losing, he finally got his first taste of the playoffs.
The bigger the moment, the more Williams’ eyes directed toward Moore.
For all the magic, of course, his Bears run ended with a thud. The lasting image is somewhat controversial. Moore was skewered by ex-QB Chase Daniel and others as the culprit on Williams’ interception vs. the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. Daniel insists Moore should’ve flattened off his route underneath the safety for his quarterback. There’s also the distinct possibility that Williams, a quarterback who finished 38th in completion percentage, threw a bad ball.
Either way, these two were never consistently on the same page.
One more thought on the Rams comparison, as Beane’s old comments about wanting to be “fiscally responsible” make the round. I agree Beane should swing like Les Snead swings. All teams in possession of a top 5 quarterback should hunt for potential stars, picks be damned. However, there is a not-so-minor distinction between the two situations.
The Rams were coached by Sean McVay. The Bills were coached by Sean McDermott.
There is no comparing their offensive minds. Mortgaging draft capital and millions of dollars into a wide receiver is different now. This is a Brady move as much as a Beane move. The Bills’ new coach must maximize a talent he knows very well.
Because, chances are, DJ Moore will be put in position to be the hero at some point next January. Catch that ball and all those social-media valuation charts will look silly.
Want to know more about Moore?
I’ll be chatting with one coach who knows him best in a piece available to subscribers.
Join here:
I hope DJ has packed his cheese grater hat for the Packers game next season! Sad to see him leave but will continue to root for him. A great guy and has always been massively underrated IMO. A great article as usual, Tyler.
DJ is already a win because he gives Josh hope that he will finally have a clutch WR1 in the playoffs. How they ultimately click on the field will largely determine how far the Bills go in 2026. I hope the two will spend lots of time developing chemistry in the offseason.