Donte Rakeem Moncrief (born August 6, 1993) is an former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Ole Miss, and was drafted by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the third round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

High school career

A native of

Raleigh, Mississippi Raleigh is a town in, and the county seat of, Smith County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,462 at the 2010 census, making it the largest town in Smith County. Named for English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, Raleigh has been home t ...

, 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 Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

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 The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

event, with a personal-best mark of 7.76 meters (25-1.5). Considered a four-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', he was rated as the 17th best wide receiver prospect in the nation.

College career

Moncrief attended the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

from 2011 to 2013. During his collegiate career, he had 156 receptions for 2,371 yards and 20

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. Moncrief announced on January 3, 2014 that he would forgo his senior season and enter the

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Moncrief was drafted in the third round, with the 90th overall pick, by the

on May 9, 2014. On May 30, the Colts officially signed him to his rookie contract. On October 26, 2014, in a game vs. the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, Moncrief scored his first NFL touchdown on a pass from quarterback

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during his c ...

. In week 13, Moncrief had 3 receptions for a career-high 134 yards and 2 touchdowns to help the Colts beat the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

49–27. He finished his rookie season with 32 receptions for 444 yards and 3 touchdowns. In 2015, he 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 he had a career-low 26 catches, 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 The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. 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 deal with the

. Moncrief made his debut with the Steelers in Week 1 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. In the game, Moncrief caught 3 passes for 7 yards in the 33–3 loss. He was released on November 2, 2019, after putting up just four catches for 18 yards through five games.

Carolina Panthers

On November 4, 2019, Moncrief was claimed off waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He was released on December 6, 2019. Moncrief had a tryout with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on August 13, 2020, and with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on August 19, 2020.

New York Jets

On August 31, 2020, Moncrief signed with the

. He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on September 10, and activated back to the practice squad on October 7. He was released on October 14.

New England Patriots

On November 4, 2020, the

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 The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Against the Cardinals, Moncrief had a 53-yard kick return. On December 5, 2020, he was signed to the active roster.

Houston Texans

Moncrief signed a one-year contract with the

on March 22, 2021. Moncrief was released by the Texans on July 27.

Retirement

On February 18, 2023, Moncrief announced his retirement.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bioIndianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moncrief, Donte 1993 births Living people People from Raleigh, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Ole Miss Rebels football players Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars players Pittsburgh Steelers players Carolina Panthers players New York Jets players New England Patriots players Houston Texans players 21st-century African-American sportspeople