When you look at statistics it is easy to take the numbers at face value and make judgments about the player. This was the case by many Pittsburgh Steelers when they checked out the numbers for wide receiver Donte Moncrief after he was signed by the Steelers this offseason.
It was easy to look at 26 receptions in 2017 and 48 receptions and 2018 and wonder if Moncrief was already on the downside of his potential. But thanks to Pro Football Focus we get some context about those numbers. There are few positions in the NFL as dependant on their teammates as wide receiver. And as you can see by the info below, the last two season have been a nightmare for Moncrief and the quarterback position.
Even going back to 2014-2016 a case could be made the lack of balance on the Indianapolis Colts didn’t help Moncrief but actually hurt him. This season he has a chance to be a starter on the best offense he’s ever played on. If he can show Ben Roethlisberger he can be dependable, you can bet Big Ben will feed him the football.
In addition, Moncrief should draw the best coverage of his career with Pittsburgh. Between JuJu Smith-Schuster drawing double teams and the threat of James Conner as a runner, Moncrief has a chance to easily top the 64 receptions and 733 receiving yards he had in 2015.
