Donte Rakeem Moncrief (born August 6, 1993) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft.
Early life A native of Raleigh, Mississippi, Moncrief attended Raleigh High School. He registered 21 catches for 441 yards and 9 touchdowns as a senior while also passing for 365 yards with 2 touchdowns and rushing 12 times for 144 yards. He also returned two punts for touchdowns. He collected 48 tackles, four for loss, and four interceptions on defense.
In addition to football, Moncrief also competed in track & field for the Lions, where he was one of the state's top performers in the long jump. He was a two-time 3A state champion in the long jump event, with a personal-best mark of 7.76 meters (25-1.5).
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 17th best wide receiver prospect in the nation.
College career Moncrief attended the University of Mississippi from 2011 to 2013. During his collegiate career, he had 156 receptions for 2,371 yards and 20 touchdowns.Donte Moncrief declares for NFL Draft
Moncrief announced on January 3, 2014 that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL draft.
Professional career
Indianapolis Colts Moncrief was selected in the third round, with the 90th overall pick, by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 NFL draft. On May 30, 2014, the Colts officially signed him to his rookie contract. In Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Moncrief scored his first NFL touchdown on a pass from quarterback Andrew Luck. In Week 13, Moncrief had three receptions for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns to help the Colts beat the Washington Redskins, 49–27. He finished his rookie season with 32 receptions for 444 yards and three touchdowns.
In the 2015 season, Moncrief had a career-high 64 receptions for 733 yards and six touchdowns. In 2016, Moncrief missed six games with a shoulder sprain and another with a hamstring issue, but still managed to catch seven touchdowns. In 2017, his catches dropped to 26 (a career-low at the time) due to injuries of his own as well as Luck missing the entire season.
Jacksonville Jaguars On March 15, 2018, Moncrief signed a one-year, $9.6 million fully guaranteed contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 4, in a victory over the New York Jets, Moncrief totaled five receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with 48 receptions for 668 yards and three touchdowns.
Pittsburgh Steelers On March 14, 2019, Moncrief signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Moncrief made his debut with the Steelers in Week 1 against the New England Patriots, where he caught 3-of-10 passes for seven yards in the 33–3 loss. On November 2, he was released by Pittsburgh after putting up just four catches out of 15 targets for 18 yards and no touchdowns through five games.
Carolina Panthers On November 4, 2019, Moncrief was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers. He was released by Carolina on December 6.
Moncrief had a tryout with the San Francisco 49ers on August 13, 2020, and with the New York Jets on August 19.
New York Jets On August 31, 2020, Moncrief signed with the New York Jets. On September 5, he was released by the Jets as a part of final roster cuts and was re–signed to the practice squad the next day. Moncrief was placed on the practice squad/injured list on September 10, activated back to the practice squad on October 7, and released on October 14.
New England Patriots On November 4, 2020, the New England Patriots signed Moncrief to their practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 21 and November 28 for the team's Weeks 11 and 12 games against the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals, reverting to the practice squad after each game. Against the Cardinals, Moncrief had a 53-yard kick return. On December 5, he was signed to the active roster.
Houston Texans Moncrief signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans on March 22, 2021. Moncrief was released by the Texans on July 27.
On February 18, 2023, Moncrief announced his retirement from professional football.
NFL career statistics +Regular season statisticsYearTeamGamesReceivingRushingFumbles GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2014 IND 16 2 32 444 13.9 79T 3 4 17 4.3 7 0 0 0 2015 IND 16 10 64 733 11.5 33 6 — — — — — 0 0 2016 IND 9 7 30 307 10.2 39 7 1 −1 −1.0 −1 0 0 0 2017 IND 12 8 26 391 15.0 60 2 — — — — — 0 0 2018 JAX 16 14 48 668 13.9 80T 3 — — — — — 1 1 2019 PIT 5 2 4 18 4.5 11 0 — — — — — 0 0 CAR 3 0 — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 2020 NE 6 0 1 15 15.0 15 0 1 4 4.0 4 0 0 0 Total 83 43 205 2,576 12.6 80 21 6 20 3.3 7 0 1 1
+Postseason statisticsYearTeamGamesReceivingRushingFumbles GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2014 IND 2 0 5 86 17.2 36T 1 — — — — — 0 0 Total 2 0 5 86 17.2 36T 1 — — — — — 0 0
References
External links
Ole Miss Rebels bio