Duke football wide receivers continue to shine

Duke football is coming off a thrilling double-overtime victory at Northwestern on Friday night. It wasn't the cleanest game offensively by any means for the Blue Devils as there are plenty of new pieces between players and new coaching staff hires. Yet, it was able to gel together towards the end of the matchup to come away with the win.

In newly hired offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer's scheme, he likes to move the ball quickly and use a type of "air-raid" offense. This paves the way for Duke receivers to be able to step up and become massive contributors on a nightly basis. And now, we're seeing graduate transfers Eli Pancol and Jordan Moore begin to flourish in their expanded roles.

Pancol has had a rough go over the last couple of seasons, where injuries kept him sidelined for the end of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 season. He discussed in his postgame press conference after Duke's week one 26-3 win over Elon how emotional he was before the game and what it meant to him to be back. He didn't just make it back on the field though, he looked like a true wide receiver one. Pancol caught seven passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

He continued to be a threat all across the field against the Wildcats on Friday. Pancol only caught two passes for nineteen yards, but both catches were touchdowns, including one in overtime that would ultimately end up being the game-sealing score. Pancol hasn't had more than 24 catches or 347 yards receiving in a season in his career, entirely spent at Duke, and has already tied his career-high in touchdowns with three.

Pancol has great separation ability with his feet and cuts as well as any Blue Devil receiver. The great cutter that he is and with the ability to catch contested balls in the end zone, he will be a huge red zone threat for the Blue Devils all season long.

Jordan Moore spent his first season in Durham as a quarterback before turning to the wide receiver position in 2022. Moore has also been heavily involved with this offense, already hauling in eighteen passes for 233 yards and a touchdown through two games. Moore has been a volume pass catcher for the Blue Devils across the past two seasons, hauling in 60 and 62 receptions respectively. Through 2024, he's averaging just under thirteen yards a catch and can certainly break his career-high in receiving yards which he set in 2023 with 835.

After the win at Northwestern, Moore touched on the weapons of this Duke offense. "But I'm just so happy that we can be part of a team where, you know, somebody's lacking, another person can pick it up. And nobody ever, you know, points fingers, you know, we always keep playing and we're a family."

Moore is a guy with tons of breakaway ability on deep routes and has a knack for catching tough passes over his shoulder, maintaining great concentration through the catch. He and Pancol complement each other very well as Duke's top two receivers. Duke hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jamison Crowder in 2014, and Moore is poised to be able to break that drought this season.