After being spurned in their attempt to sign former Chargers receiver Tyrell Williams, the Steelers turned their attention elsewhere.
Early Thursday morning, they landed another speedster, agreeing to terms with Donte Moncrief on a two-year deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. And by Thursday afternoon, the team announced the contract and will introduce Moncrief at a press conference inside Rooney Complex.
Moncrief, a third-round pick of the Colts in 2014, was a free agent last year, signing a one-year, $9-million deal with the Jaguars. He caught 48 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns, despite Jacksonville's issues at quarterback.
The need for a veteran wide receiver became even greater for the Steelers when their trade of Antonio Brown became official when the new league year began at 4 p.m. Wednesday. That move left the Steelers with only JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ryan Switzer on the roster as receivers with NFL experience, albeit just five combined years of experience. That group has caught just over 200 passes and Smith-Schuster has 169 of them.
Moncrief, a former star at Mississippi, caught 64 passes for 733 yards and six touchdowns in his second season in 2015, working with Andrew Luck.
But Luck was in and out of the lineup the next two seasons and Moncrief's numbers suffered, as he caught just 56 passes the next two seasons. He did, however, haul in nine of those catches for touchdowns.
Overall, Moncrief has caught 200 career passes in 69 games for 2,543 yards and 21 touchdowns, many like this one last season over New England's Pro Bowl corner Stephon Gilmore.
No, this isn't Allen Robinson, it's Donte Moncrief pic.twitter.com/0n0oW7GAwt
— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) September 16, 2018
Moncrief, 6-foot-2, 220-pounds, was a star of the NFL Scouting Combine in 2014. The 25-year-old ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash and displayed a 39.5-inch vertical leap, while also jumping 11-0 in the standing broad jump. All were among the tops at the wide receiver position that year.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
A bargain pickup for the Steelers. Moncrief was overpaid by the Jaguars in 2018. The guess here is his deal comes in somewhere around $9-10 million over the two years.
An athletic freak, Moncrief gives the Steelers just what they needed, a speed receiver on the outside to allow them to move Smith-Schuster into the slot when they choose. And he doesn't necessarily hurt the development of Washington.
He won't replace the production of Brown, but he'll free up Smith-Schuster to be used as the team feels he's needed against a particular opponent. This guy can stretch the field.
With Steven Nelson at cornerback and now Moncrief at receiver, the Steelers' draft board is opening up -- outside of inside linebacker.
Given their 10 draft picks now that the trades for Brown and Marcus Gilbert have officially gone through, expect the Steelers to make a big push to move up on draft day to acquire Devin White or Devin Bush. To get White, they would likely have to move up into the top 10. Bush might require a move to the top 15 or 16.
Even so, they'll still be in the market in the draft for a receiver in the middle rounds.