Fantasy Football Player Profile: Donte Moncrief

Fantasy Football Player Profile: Donte Moncrief

Worst Case Scenario 

The worst-case includes there being a very specific reason that Moncrief is on his third team in as many seasons – he’s not very good. Through his five year career, he has yet to exceed 105 targets, 64 receptions, 733 yards, and seven touchdowns. That magical season is now three seasons in the rearview, heading into the fourth. The Indianapolis Colts saw fit to let him walk away, even with Andrew Luck as quarterback and weapons always being precious for franchise quarterbacks.

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There is also the James Washington factor. His own teammate talked him up in a big way over the offseason, as Smith-Schuster professed his confidence in the second year product this upcoming year. In this report, Washington is said to have lost 15 pounds and last year there were always reports about him showing up in practice. His own offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner talked to Steelers Depot in December of last year –

"Said offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner about the rookie and the potential of him starting, “I expect James to keep improving every week”, according to the team’s communications department. “Now you get a little taste of it and you can see the excitement in his eyes”."

Washington could take a big leap forward this year and suddenly, the third receiver on the Steelers is much tougher to rely on. You’d need a touchdown every week to make your lineup work, and that is very unlikely to happen. If rookie Diontae Johnson is able to carve out any role this year, Moncrief sees his role diminish even further. The Pittsburgh offense still spread the ball around after Brown and Smith-Schuster in 2018. They targeted the running backs 100 times, Switzer 44 times and the tight ends a combined 111 times. Moncrief in an unclear role is far too volatile to play very often.

Main Takeaway 

Projecting this situation is not very easy. Washington is brimming with potential and the Steelers spent high draft capital on him just last year. This is a team that seemingly doesn’t miss on receivers all that often. If he’s a bust, it’s going to be a big one and Washington is going to get the opportunity.

Having said that, the rate of which they played three receivers have to help the situation here. The Steelers might dial back the passing game a little bit but they still have Ben Roethlisberger slinging the ball all around the field. Moncrief is a fair pick right now and he won’t kill you if he flops. I prefer to swing for the fences in his range and I’d rather take Washington.

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