Kellen Moore could torture Cowboys with potential Eagles roster

Kellen Moore has had a tumultuous few seasons since leaving the Dallas Cowboys in 2022. Moore spent the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Chargers, but when the coaching staff was fired in favor of Jim Harbaugh, the offensive coordinator fled for a better job. Moore signed with Nick Sirianni’s staff to become the Eagles’ offensive coordinator and has complete autonomy over how he uses his system.

If Moore is successful, he should be a top coaching candidate this offseason. He could also help the Eagles make a deep postseason run, so it’s a win-win situation. Part of Moore’s plan is to develop DeVonta Smith and use him as CeeDee Lamb. While it’s a tough comparison to make — Lamb is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and just signed a lucrative extension — Smith is talented in his own right.

Moore looks to take advantage of Smith’s speed, specifically by moving him around the offense. That’s an area where Lamb has excelled in recent years, so it’s no surprise Moore sees some similarities between the two. Lamb is two inches behind Smith, but Smith is faster and runs similar routes.

When Moore was hired, both Smith and AJ Brown praised the new offensive coordinator for his motion offense.

“I think it’s going to be great,” DeVonta Smith said. “Let’s bring in a new style of offense. Let’s allow guys — not to have more freedom — but to do things we haven’t had the right to do. Move guys around, things like that. In general, it’s always (good) to have a fresh start.”

Sirianni and company have not employed that strategy. Since being hired, Sirianni has sent wide receivers into action just over 30 percent of the time, the lowest rate in the league.

“I would say when it comes to certain routes, trusting each other, me and Jalen (Hurts), Smitty (DeVonta Smith), everybody on the field,” AJ Brown said. “Just trusting each other, being on the same page. Making sure you have space when the time comes. I think that’s a pretty good thing, a pretty cool thing for a wide receiver.”

The Eagles’ offense should look a lot different in 2024, and Moore is to blame. He used his time in Dallas as a sort of training ground, and he clearly saw some trends with Lamb. Moving a wide receiver around in the formation can reveal a few things. First, it can tell the quarterback if certain secondary players are close to the line of scrimmage. Second, it can also reveal whether the cornerback will be following the wide receiver in man-on-man coverage.

There’s no reason not to pursue this strategy. However, if Smith has a breakout season like Lamb’s, Moore could land a head coaching job sooner than expected.