CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Consider Steve Smith the president of the DJ Moore fan club.
Smith, who spent the vast majority of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, heaped praise upon the Panthers’ first-round draft pick Thursday night, saying he was clearly the best wide receiver in this year’s draft. The Panthers selected Moore with the 24th overall pick in the draft, giving Cam Newton another weapon under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
“He’s on your wide receiver board at number one because he’s a playmaker,” Smith said. “You said he’s a little bit raw, I disagree. I think he can run every route on the route tree. A Ph.D. in route running. He can line up in the slot, he can line up outside; he’s elusive, he’ll run through you, he’ll run around you, and he’ll run away from you.”
Smith, who left the Panthers prior to the 2014 season, is the franchise leader for practically every receiving category in team history. After the pick of Moore was announced, Agent 89 let the world know exactly how he felt.
“If you really want to know the truth of how I feel, they have never been able to replace me. Until today,” Smith said.
Moore was asked after his selection about Smith's comments. The rookie downplayed it as much as possible, but when a likely Hall of Famer gives you props, it's hard to ignore it.
"That's kind of great coming from him. I just got to go in there and play my game. If he said that, that's a high honor. But I'm just going to go in there and be the best me," Moore said.
