Countdown to Training Camp: Donte Moncrief

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At this time last year Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns were the Jaguars top two receivers. With both players having moved on Donte Moncrief was brought in from Indianapolis to help fill that void. Moncrief signed a one-year, $9.6 million deal in free agency.

Position: Wide Receiver

2017 Stats (With Indianapolis Colts): 26 catches, 391 yards and 2 TDs

2018 Projection: Moncrief battled injuries for most of last season, not to mention the Colts didn’t have Andrew Luck at quarterback all year. There are a couple of things that likely caught the eyes of the Jaguars front office. At 6’2” and 220 pounds he has a similar body type to Allen Robinson. Moncrief has the ability to win the one-on-one contested throws. 

He also has more top end speed than Robinson. Last season five of Moncrief’s 26 catches went for 20-yards or more and he averaged 15 yards per catch. We know the Jaguars are going to run the football so that could free up opportunities for Blake Bortles to hit Moncrief deep down the field off of play action passes. Although the Jaguars could have as many as six receivers dress for game days, Moncrief is penciled in as the starter next to Marqise Lee.

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles on how he see’s Moncrief fitting into their offense:

“I think he is going to give us another target in the red zone. I think with the loss of Marcedes [Lewis] and his big body and A-Rob’s [Allen Robinson’s] jumping ability, I think now with Keelan [Cole], Austin [Seferian-Jenkins] and now we have Donte, we have three big guys that can go play one-on-one, catch fades and do different things in the red zone. I will tell you that the most impressive thing about him is how hard he has worked. All offseason, during phase two, running routes – the effort and precision in his route-running has been extremely impressive.”