With a change at the quarterback position and the departure of Darrius Heyward-Bey to Indianapolis, many around the league expected Oakland Raiders wide receiver Denarius Moore to assume a bigger role and be the true #1 option. Coming off a season in which he caught 7 touchdowns with 741 yards, it seemed only natural for the young wideout to continue to improve.
Not everyone has been pleased with Moore though specifically his offensive coordinator Greg Olsen. He let it be known that he hasn’t been pleased with Moore, questioning his maturity.
Well a lot of it is going to be on Denarius. To me, it’s that whole character issue, becoming a self-starter, becoming a self-motivated person, and a lot of that comes with maturity. I think he’d be the first guy to say we’re constantly on top of him and it’s hard to give someone like that any base, so we just coach him up, but I think he’s becoming a more mature player and more mature person, so I think that’s going to help as well. A lot of players will tell you, if they’re fortunate enough to stay in the league for any length of time, they will all tell you, ‘Boy, I wish I had been more mature as a younger player.’ And I think that maturity will happen for Denarius.
If there is anything that is needed for the Raiders franchise in general, it is most certainly leadership. Moore would do well to assume a larger role on the team off the field as well, but it appears he may not be ready for that.