“Sky’s the Limit” For Donte Moncrief

In 2014, the Indianapolis Colts headed into the season with a loaded wide receiving corps. They had three number one caliber receivers and a young talent in Donte Moncrief.

As the season progressed, injuries (Reggie Wayne) and a lack of effort (Hakeem Nicks) took their toll on this unit. Moncrief was given more snaps as a result and he didn’t disappoint.

Moncrief finished the year with 32 receptions for 444 yards and a three touchdowns. He was on the field for 421 snaps, half that of Wayne or T.Y. Hilton and nearly 200 fewer than Nicks.

In his second year, Moncrief finds himself in a similar situation to his rookie campaign. This time around, he’ll be third on the depth chart behind Hilton and Andre Johnson but the coaching staff is looking to expand his role with the offense.

Coach Chuck Pagano recently spoke about how talented Moncrief is and what he can do for the Colts offense.

“Moncrief has big play ability and we saw him do that,” said  Pagano. “He’s going to have more opportunities going forward. This guy can make plays. He’s big. He’s fast. He can stretch the defense, all those types of things.

“It’s a learning process, and he’s going to be better in year two than he was in year one. He’s going to have more opportunities.”

With the Johnson signing, the Colts aren’t banking on Moncrief making a huge leap in his development. However, he will be able to give the Colts something they haven’t had in the Andrew Luck-era: a competent third wide receiver.

“He’s a competitive guy and he’s not afraid of any challenge. He’s not going to back down from any challenge,” said Pagano. “Having said that, that’s obviously going to factor in as we move forward, just his mindset. He’s a great competitor. He will go back and study all that tape and see what people did to him. He’s got such a high ceiling and room for improvement. The sky’s the limit for him.”

With the addition of Johnson, the Colts have given Luck two very large targets at wide receiver. Moncrief is 6-2 with Johnson measures in at 6-3. Expect more jump balls when those two lineup in the red zone.

The Colts are looking at another season where there are big expectations from the receiving options currently on the roster. With the talent available, its easy to assume that Luck will be near the top of the league in yardage once again.