Prospects spend months training and preparing for the NFL Draft. Working out five, six days a week, meeting with teams, attending their Pro Day, doing everything they can to boost their stock. When the time comes, all they can do is wait. For fourth round pick Dan Moore Jr., it was a longer wait than he would’ve liked. And he’s using that feeling as fuel entering the league.
Moore Jr. joined iHeart Radio’s In The Trenches, hosted by N.D. Kalu, to discuss getting picked by the Steelers. And the mentality he’ll be bringing the NFL.
“Most definitely,” Moore Jr. told the show when asked if there was a chip on his shoulder “Obviously, you know your projections of where you’re predicted to go. When that doesn’t happen, it could be a little hurtful, especially when you have people around you. Embarrassment, defeat maybe a little bit.”
Moore Jr. was projected as a Day Three candidate so him going in the fourth round is in-line with those pre-draft projections. Still, that doesn’t make the wait or the anxiousness any easier to deal with. Moore Jr. said he tried his best to remain positive into Saturday.
“At the end of the day, I tried to stay optimistic and basically convinced myself like regardless, I mean not even convince yourself, just that it’s a privilege to even hear your name called.”
He heard his named called with the 128th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Twelve picks later his teammate LB Buddy Johnson was then picked by the Steelers, giving him a familiar face from his first day. Moore Jr. also trained with Steelers’ third round pick Kendrick Green during the pre-draft process.
As the Steelers like to say, they don’t care how you got here. And now that he’s in the NFL, Moore Jr. knows it’s worked out for the best.
“I think it was a blessing within itself. I ended up in a good situation playing for a great organization and a great team with a great foundation.”
But he admitted he won’t forget about the teams who passed on him nor the 127 players taken before his name was announced.
“Having that chip on my shoulder as well. Like, ‘hey, all the teams that passed on me, you’ll regret that for sure.'”
