Things didn’t go particularly well for Kansas City Chiefs rookie WR Skyy Moore in Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season.
Moore muffed a punt, which led to the first points of the game for the Indianapolis Colts. Things really began to snowball from that point forward, especially on special teams. He’d fail to field the second punt of the game, leaving the ball to be downed at the one-yard line.
It’s important to remember that Moore is still adjusting to what is considered to be a new role. He didn’t play punt returner with any consistency in college or in high school, so he’s very much learning as he goes. Despite his struggles in Week 3, Kansas City intends to stick with Moore at punt returner moving forward.
Asked whether Mecole Hardman would get a chance to return some punts in Week 4, Chiefs ST coordinator Dave Toub explained that Hardman is an option if he’s healthy, but that he plans to stick with Moore moving forward.
“If Mecole’s (Hardman) ready to go (then) he’s a possibility,” Toub told reporters on Thursday. “But Skyy (Moore) is a guy that I really believe will be a good punt returner. We’re sticking with Skyy. We like Skyy. If you noticed, you know he finished with a 12-yard return.”
Toub feels that the last punt return was indicative of progress and a sign of what’s to come for Moore. It’s just a matter of getting him more live repetitions, as he has very few in his football career so far.
“He wants to do it. He’s not hiding from it,” Toub continued. “I mean he wants to be ‘the guy.’ So, he made a mistake. Mistakes happen with young players. (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) sticks with guys. I stick with guys. If they make mistakes – we’re coaches, we’ve got to get them better. That’s our job, and I really believe that he is going to be a really good punt returner.”
Right now, Toub is committed to coaching Moore and getting him to a point where returning punts is second nature. Whether he continues to return punts or not, there remains some anxiousness in the Chiefs Kingdom to see the second-round pick get more involved on the offensive side of the ball too. His snap count on offense was up six snaps from Week 2 and the hope remains that it will only continue to go up from here.
