Why he won't wear 89 and more: 5 things to know about Panthers pick D.J. Moore

Carolina Panthers' first-round pick D.J. Moore endured a whirlwind 24 hours that included a FaceTime conversation with quarterback Cam Newton, a late-night cartoon session ("SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Fairly Oddparents") and an early-morning flight Friday to Charlotte.

After visiting with the Panthers' coaches, staff and players — including fellow former Maryland receiver Torrey Smith — Moore met the Charlotte media during an introductory press conference.

Here are five things we learned:

1. When Marty Hurney said Moore runs like a running back, there’s a good reason.

The 6-foot, 210-pound Moore played running back and a little quarterback until his freshman year at his Philadelphia high school, when he became a receiver.

Moore said his youth coaches joked about him not wanting to get hit when he had the ball. That’s no longer the case.

Ask the Towson defensive end whom Moore ran over on a jet sweep last season, a play that featured Moore making two more tacklers miss before he found the end zone. Google it, trust me.

“Not having just one person tackle me is my mentality. If he had tackled me, it would have been like a 6-yard loss,” Moore said. “In my head I was like, ‘Nah, that can’t happen. I’ll just have to make something out of nothing.’”

Moore said his playing style is reminiscent of Cleveland Browns receiver Jarvis Landry and former NFL wideout Percy Harvin, two players who “both played with aggressiveness.”

2. He’s not only fast and physical, he’s also versatile.

Moore plans to learn all three receiving positions to help him get on the field more quickly. While Devin Funchess looks locked in as the Panthers’ X, or No. 1, receiver, look for Moore to line up at both the Z and the slot, where his ability to make defenders miss after the catch will be big.

He described himself as a “movable part.”

“It’s going to play a big part in me getting on the field early,” he said. “So just learning all three (spots) is going to be the best thing for me, get to understand the playbook faster and know the ins and outs.”

3. Adversity doesn’t faze him.

Moore endured a lot at Maryland, where he played for three head coaches and with eight different quarterbacks during three losing seasons. Scouts and coaches like how Moore persevered in trying circumstances, catching 80 passes last season for four different QBs.

“If you’re a so-called leader of a team, you don’t want to fall off and be like, ‘Well, I’m just not going to play hard because we’re losing,’” Moore said. “That’s not the right thing to do.”

That said, Moore wasn’t real fired up about playing for the Terps a fourth season, even when the NFL’s draft advisory committee recommended he stay in school. Moore was concerned a drop-off in production if he stayed for his senior season would hurt his stock.

“I had a ‘go back to school’ grade. I really didn’t think too much about it. I knew I wanted to come out,” he said. “I talked to the staff at Maryland and just made a decision from there.”

4. He’s ready to make his own name.

Moore will wear No. 12, which belonged to Kerry Collins during the Panthers’ early years and most recently, wideout Kaelin Clay.

Moore wore No. 1 at Maryland, but that number was taken in Charlotte.

He also didn’t feel right about wearing No. 89, despite the praise heaped on him by the feisty receiver who made that jersey popular across the Carolinas.

“That’d be some big shoes to fill with Steve Smith being here,” Moore said. “So I just thought I’d start something new.”

5. He’s not a trash talker — or much of a talker, period.

Moore, whose given name is Denniston Moore Jr., says his biggest influence is his mother, Donna “Cookie” Ridley. But there’s one area in which she hasn’t influenced him much.

“She’s the opposite of me. I’m more quiet,” Moore said. “She’s got a lot of friends. But that’s not who I am.”

Moore said it’s not like he becomes a different person on the field, either.

“I’ll flip the switch. But I don’t talk,” he said. “I just let my play do the talking."

This story was originally published April 27, 2018 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Why he won't wear 89 and more: 5 things to know about Panthers pick D.J. Moore."