Chiefs coordinator Dave Toub remains bullish on Skyy Moore’s future. Here’s why
.jpg "Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore (24) returns a punt for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field on Aug. 15, 2025.")
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Skyy Moore's 88-yard punt return reignited confidence in Seattle preseason game.
- Chiefs coordinator Dave Toub praised Moore’s resilience and return potential.
- Moore acknowledged mental hurdles, emphasizing persistence over performance lapses.
Any frustrations Chiefs fans have shared about wide receiver Skyy Moore pale in comparison to how he’s felt about himself.
Moore was a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft but struggled as rookie until turning things around in the playoffs. His long punt return late in the AFC Championship Game put the Chiefs in position to kick a winning field goal.
In Super Bowl LVII, he caught a touchdown pass, his first in the NFL.
But drops have plagued him since, and Moore didn’t have a catch in six games last season before landing on injured reserve because of a core-muscle injury.
Moore looked lost in the Chiefs’ 33-16 preseason defeat on Friday against the Seahawks, dropping a pair of passes.
While there was no thunder associated with the rain that fell in Seattle that evening, lightning struck late in the game. Moore fielded a punt at the 12-yard line, faked to his right and bolted down the sideline for an 88-yard touchdown return.
That was the confidence-booster Moore was looking for. He later found Chiefs assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Dave Toub and made an admission, saying, “I really needed that.”
Toub agreed and praised Moore’s tenacity.
“I was really proud of him,” Toub said Tuesday. “Even though it’s at the end of the game, you never stop trying to score. I was really happy for him.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the game that Moore’s dropped passes were “not like him.”
Moore admitted the drops played mind games with him. The miscues were weighing on him as the game progressed.
But then came that return.
“It felt great, just showing that sense of resiliency,” Moore told reporters afterward. “Obviously, I had two drops this game, and it felt like I was in my head after the first one.
“To go back there and catch a punt return knowing my history of punt returns and take it back to the house ... It meant a lot to me, this game, and a lot for my confidence. Just showing myself that you can’t lose if you keep going.”
Toub believes that touchdown return shows Moore, 24, has a future in the NFL. Although he didn’t have a catch in 2024, Moore played 18 snaps on special teams. He returned two kickoffs for 43 yards.
“His punt-return ability and kick-return ability has really gotten better over the years,” Toub said. “It showed right there. He’s solid there in that part of it. The other part is the mental thing with him. It’s just getting over the hump. He’s definitely an NFL player, whether he’s on our team or not on our team.
“I think the return helped him and opened a lot of eyes for people. He’s a good football player.”
Moore, who missed a few days of training camp because of a hamstring injury, offered a bit of self-evaluation following the loss in Seattle.
Yes, the NFL is about making tough catches and absorbing big hits, but there’s more to it than that.
“It’s a physical game. Everything that I’ve got physically, God-gifted, is the reason I’m here,” Moore said. “I feel like 90% of the game is mental. Everybody that plays in this league goes through those mental obstacles.
“I feel like it’s about how you do it. Whether you win or lose, you just have to keep getting up and keep going. I feel like that’s the biggest thing people should take out of what went on today.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 1:59 PM.
