SKscouts Summer Scouting: Dante Moore, QB, Oregon

Dante Moore is going to be turning 21 later this month, and will be 22 in his first NFL game assuming he declares after this season. He's played a good bit of football already, having started on two different teams for a portion of time each, being UCLA and currently Oregon.

Games Reviewed:

2023 UCLA @ Utah
2025 Oregon @ Penn State
2025 Indiana @ Oregon
2025 Oregon @ Iowa
2025 Oregon Vs Indiana (Peach Bowl)

Positives:

- In structure, Moore is very poised. When faced with tough crowds and environments, he doesn't shake super easily. He's got a good head on his shoulders.

- Seemed to definitely develop his processing and mental quickness from his start at UCLA to his most recent play two years removed from UCLA.

- The ball placement really couldn't be better on intermediate passes over the middle of the field. Attacks zone coverage with confidence and precision.

- Comfortable on the move, especially to his right where he can be seen scrambling to throw on many occasions.

- Enough of an athlete to get away from defenders in the pocket and extend plays.

- Great arm talent

Negatives:

- Oregon offense was very simple and didn't really allow him to showcase his arm as often as you'd like. A lot of dink and dunks and screen passes.

- Has some real lapses in judgement when pressure gets in his face at times, especially when the pressure comes through the middle of the pocket. When he's pressured and can't drift to the side, he struggles to go from there. I also feel he has issues with actually climbing the pocket and setting his feet there, as he too often leans on the sidelines and scrambles there instead of staying in the pocket. Leads to unnecessary scary passes.

- Ghost pressure gets him sometimes. More than one occasion a game where he thinks he is under pressure and doesn't trust his line, leaving the pocket too quickly and tossing it away.

- Has yet to have a game against big time competition where he was GREAT. Even against James Madison, which isn't a game I fully reviewed but watched live, he had some bad mistakes that better teams would take advantage of. Needs to clean up the basics a lot more.

- The Indiana and Texas Tech playoff games were both really ugly at times. If TTU had a capable offense, I don't believe Dante Moore would've made it to Indiana the next week, where he played his worst game of the season.

- Frame is lean and thin. Durability concerns ensue.

Overview:

The leap Dante Moore took from UCLA to Oregon was impressive, but I almost wonder if he succeeded because of his obvious immense talent or the much more simplified offensive identity mixed with the much better talent at Oregon. The realistic answer is a mix of both. I would like to believe the offense will be more dynamic and aggressive with a new OC, but considering Mehringer has been on this staff with Stein for the last four years, I don't think that will be the case. I'd like to watch Dante Moore not throw 15 screens a game, but I'll settle for that as long as we see more interesting concepts down the field and some development in the short game.

Overall, Moore is an interesting and young prospect, I love the arm and the head on his shoulders, but there are some obvious flags. He's the first QB I've reviewed over summer so far, so here's to hoping he develops. I don't fully buy the #1 overall pick or even top 5 pick stuff. More of a mid to late first round pick.

Grade: True First Rounder
Positional Rank: QB1 (by default as my only player watched)