When the Bills added DJ Moore in March, Maxwell Hairston heard the news the way a cornerback should: with a grin and a little anticipation.
“I like that. As soon as we got him, I was like, 'Oh, those reps are going to be good,'” Hairston recalled during OTAs in June.
“That's iron sharpening iron. DJ is a guy where I know I can get better from and I know he can get better from me, so we’re just going to go at it, man.”
That kind of reaction sounds a lot like the one Tre’Davious White had back in 2020 when Stefon Diggs arrived in Buffalo. White understood immediately that going against a receiver like that every day would raise everybody’s level, and it did. The Bills are hoping Moore can create a similar kind of edge now, both in practice and on Sundays.
Moore isn’t walking into Buffalo as a young ascending name the way Diggs did. He’s already in his age 29 season, and the ask is different.
Nobody is expecting him to duplicate Diggs’ four-year run in Buffalo, when he piled up 445 catches for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns. But the Bills do need someone to own the top spot in their receiver room, and Moore fits that job better than anyone else on the roster.
The résumé is there. Moore had 364 catches for 5,201 yards and 21 touchdowns in five seasons with the Panthers, then followed with two strong years in 2023 and 2024 with the Bears, producing 194 receptions for 2,330 yards and 14 scores.
His 2025 season dipped to career lows - 50 catches and 682 yards - with Caleb Williams struggling with accuracy at 58.1%, and with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet taking more of the spotlight and the targets. Even so, Moore still came through in the biggest moment, hauling in the game-winning 25-yard touchdown with 1:43 left in Chicago’s 31-27 wild-card comeback over the Packers.
Bills coach Joe Brady and backup quarterback Kyle Allen both know Moore from their time in Carolina, and Brady said Allen had a sharp read on him right away.
“Kyle Allen, who was actually with DJ before I was, he was like, ‘Man, he looks the same,’” Brady said. “I was so excited when we traded for him and I'm more excited after getting to work with him for an offseason.
His demeanor, his approach, his leadership - he's out there, he's practicing, he's pushing through … and I think there is so much to that. He's leading in the room.”
That matters. But for Buffalo, Moore’s value won’t be measured only by how he talks or how he sets the tone. It has to show up in the passing game, because Josh Allen has not had a dependable outside threat since Diggs left after the 2023 season.
Khalil Shakir gives the offense something important underneath, turning short throws into extra yards and serving as a trusted target for Allen. Beyond that, the picture gets murkier.
Joshua Palmer was an injury-riddled disappointment in 2025, Keon Coleman has been uneven, and Skyler Bell, the rookie fourth-round pick, may need time before he can be counted on. Even making the game-day roster could be tricky for Bell if the Bills decide Trent Sherfield’s special teams work and run-blocking make him the better fit for the fifth receiver spot.
Buffalo’s offense has still been one of the league’s most productive units without a dominant receiving group, but the room needed a jolt. Moore gives them that.
“I think I’m a combination of all different things,” Moore said. “I play hard, play tough, nothing really bothers me and just all around, just have fun and just go out there and make exciting plays.
Everybody does different things and I just look to come in and just be a mold and just fit any way I can and go with it from there and hope everybody is ready to work. The talent (in Buffalo) and Josh has been playing at a high level, so just to join him is something great.”
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