Indianapolis Colts

NFL Rebels: Donte Moncrief In Line For a Breakout Year

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Former Ole Miss Rebel Donte Moncrief is primed to have a great season this year. He is setting up to be one of Andrew Luck’s key targets.

The Ole Miss faithful fans spent the 2013 season collectively reminding quarterback Bo Wallace and Coach Hugh Freeze to “Feed Moncrief”. Of course they were referring to the Rebels’ primary wide receiver at the time, Donte Moncrief. However, now the Indianapolis Colts’ fans may want to learn that mantra.

The NFL’s regular season start on Thursday, September 8th. Moncrief and the Colts begin their season on Sunday against the Detroit Lions at home in Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts are looking forward to making a run for a playoff spot. Therefore, Moncrief has to step up and have a more dominant role on the offensive side of the ball.

Moncrief will line up opposite of one of the most exciting receivers in the NFL, T. Y. Hilton. The defense will have to respect his speed. Also with a quarterback like Andrew Luck passing the ball around, Moncrief should have many opportunities to produce.

You could begin to see the growth in Donte Moncrief’s game during the 2015 season. He led the Colts in touchdown receptions with six. Moncrief pulled in 64 catches with 733 yards. Those numbers were good for second on the team. But many experts believe that Moncrief could pad his statistics even more this year.

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Even fantasy draft experts are expecting a good year for Moncrief. According to NFL.com fantasy expert Matt Harmon, Moncrief is “The All Too Obvious Breakout Candidate”. Fantasy owners love his ability to be a solid target for touchdowns in the red zone. Plus they appreciate his toughness and willingness to go over the middle. Therefore, he should see a lot of targets this year.

If Andrew Luck stays healthy this year, look for him to make Moncrief his security blanket. Hilton is a burner, but Moncrief has the hands and the body to go over the middle. QBs enjoy having someone they can trust in the medium passing game. So don’t be shocked if Moncrief manages to go over the 1000 yard mark this year. However, Moncrief must stay healthy as well.

Moncrief has increasingly gotten better his two seasons in the league. However, his success this year will be paramount for the Colts mounting a run to the playoffs. Feeding Moncrief worked for the Rebels. Therefore, if the Colts could learn to get into that habit as well, they may find themselves playing in January.