There was an unquestionable excitement at first.
The Buffalo Bills were on the way to unlocking the talent that made wide receiver Elijah Moore the No. 34 overall draft pick in 2021.
Signing the New York Jets' former second-round selection to a one-year free-agent contract during OTAs, the Bills seemingly found the perfect option to fill the vacant WR5 slot on the depth chart. Moore appeared fast and efficient during spring workouts, and, by multiple accounts, he was giving maximum effort.
Since the pads came on, however, Moore has been noticeably quiet.
In two preseason games, he has only one five-yard catch. Moore did not see a target over 12 offensive snaps in the exhibition opener against the New York Giants. Then, against the Chicago Bears, on August 17, he caught one of four targets, including two ugly drops.
In what was an all-around dreadful performance by Bills on Sunday night at Solider Field, Moore did his part to rile up Bills Mafia by dropping two catchable passes, and it caused a minor social media uproar on X.
"I keep waiting for Elijah Moore to show 'something'," said Dan Fetes.
"Still haven't seen any big play flashes from him in camp or preseason action," said Jonathan Acosta.
"I tried to warn some of you about Elijah Moore… He has been underwhelming for the majority of the summer," said Mike Bundt.
"KJ Hamler is better at the Elijah Moore role," said Kevin Massare.
Granted, Moore hasn't had the luxury of playing with Josh Allen during the preseason games, but he's looked no more impressive than Tyrell Shavers or Laviska Shenault.
Moore also doesn't help his case through special teams. He has seen only one ST snap in the first two exhibitions.
Once seemingly destined for a 53-man roster spot, Moore may find himself on the outside looking in come cutdown day. He'll have a chance to reverse the trend this week in practice, but will it be too late?
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