Fantasy Football: 5 Things We Learned in Week 11

D.J. Moore Is Happening

Was any receiver in the league as impressive this past week as D.J. Moore was? (Yes, a couple were, including the next guy we're going to talk about). Moore ended up as the overall WR4 in Week 11 )pending Monday Night Football) and looked like an explosive and dynamic talent who deserved every bit of his first-round NFL Draft capital.

Moore was a bright spot in a down game for the Carolina Panthers. He reeled in 7 of his 8 targets, racking up 157 receiving yards and a touchdown in the process. He spun the Detroit Lions' top cornerback, Darius Slay, in a circle on his end zone catch and turned what should have been a 12-yard grab on a third-down conversion into a crazy, tackle-breaking 82-yard sprint.

This game put him at the very top of the leaderboard in yards after the catch above or below expectation, according to Next Gen Stats (among active players this season). Moore is starting to look like an even more explosive version of Golden Tate.

Moore has been breaking out in the four weeks Torrey Smith has missed with a knee injury, and it is safe to assume Moore will keep his current role when Smith returns, based upon the way Moore has been playing. Since Week 8, Moore has caught 81% of his targets, logged 16.65 yards per reception, totaled 283 receiving yards and even added 76 yards on the ground. At this point, it's getting difficult to justify taking the rookie off the field.

The Panthers seem to agree with this sentiment as Moore is playing at an even clip to Devin Funchess, the team's de facto lead receiver. In the last three weeks, they've played an almost identical number of snaps, and since Smith's injury, Moore has vastly outproduced Funchess' marks of 142 receiving yards and 6.76 yards per target.

This is it, folks. D.J. Moore is happening.