Shady Side Academy grad Skyy Moore goes to Kansas City Chiefs in 2nd round

Free of the hold placed upon him by the covid-19 pandemic, Skyy Moore put on a show for Western Michigan fans, NFL scouts and — though they didn’t appreciate it — Pitt’s defensive players on his way to hearing his name called by the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night in the second round (54th overall) of the NFL Draft.

The Chiefs traded the No. 50 choice to the New England Patriots and moved back four spots to grab Moore, who could help Kansas City replace wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs also netted a fifth-round pick in the deal.

Moore, a Shady Side Academy graduate and New Kensington native, caught 95 passes for 1,292 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

“I feel like honestly I can come in and fill that same role but put my own twist on it,” Moore said to Kansas City reporters on a conference call. “The Chiefs are the best organization to compliment my play style.”

Held to 25 catches in six games of a covid-shortened season in 2020, he recovered to earn his second All-Mid-American Conference first-team berth in 2021. Two years earlier, he was the first MAC freshman wide receiver named first-team all-league since 2014.

For Moore, the 2021 Pitt game — a 44-41 Western Michigan victory — was the first of seven in which he reached triple digits in receiving yardage. He caught 11 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown while helping hand Pitt a loss at Heinz Field.

His best game came later when he caught 12 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns Nov. 23 at Northern Illinois.

Now, he will be catching passes from a quarterback in Patrick Mahomes regarded as one of the best — if not the best — in the NFL.

“He’s the best quarterback in football,” Moore said to Kansas City reporters. “It’s a blessing. There’s 32 teams, and I get paired with the best quarterback in football.”

Shady Side Academy coach Chuck Dinardo said he was proud of Moore’s high school accomplishments because they weren’t built solely on athletic ability.

“You could see it coming, but not from the talent, but from the work ethic,” Dinardo said. “He had pretty lofty goals growing up, and his habits matched his goals. The best part about Skyy is he’s not one of these guys who won the genetic lottery. He did all this stuff in spite of that.”

Moore didn’t play wide receiver at Shady Side Academy. He was a quarterback and cornerback and formed a productive pass-catch combination with wide receiver and best friend Dino Tomlin, son of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

“He was the quarterback because I had to get him the ball that way,” Dinardo said.

Dinardo’s only regret during Shady Side’s 10-1 season in 2018 emerged when Moore suffered a broken ankle in an opening-round playoff victory against Serra Catholic.

“We would have probably run the table and won it all,” Dinardo said.

“It would have been something special to see.”

Moore, 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, is the second New Kensington resident drafted by the NFL in the past 10 years.

He follows Colorado wide receiver Toney Clemons, chosen by the Steelers in the seventh round in 2012. Valley graduates and Pitt products Bill Callahan (Steelers, 1986), Greg Meisner (Rams, 1981) and Benjie Pryor (Bengals, 1981) also heard their name called on draft day.

Plus, three New Kensington residents were drafted in the 1940s: Ralph Fritz (Steelers, 1941), Tom Rodgers (Boston Yanks, 1947) and Sam Tamburo (New York Bulldogs, 1949).