Zak Keefer

zak.keefer@indystar.com

It wasn't that long ago, so Donte Moncrief's memory is sharp. It was Meeting No. 1 on Day No. 1 of Year No. 1 of his NFL career, and the longest-tenured Indianapolis Colt strolled right by him and took a seat.

It was Moncrief's welcome to the league moment.

"Oh my gosh," he remembers thinking, "that's really Reggie Wayne."

Moncrief was the new guy, the 90th pick in the draft, the gifted receiver out of Ole Miss who sat star-struck in the in Colts receivers' room last May before OTAs began.

He had a playbook to read, an offense to learn, draft critics to silence. On top of all of that, he had to show Wayne, who was prepping for his 14th NFL season, that he was willing to work.

"This is him," Moncrief reminded himself. "This is the guy I've been watching since I was a kid."

It was fitting, then, that on Sunday, Moncrief filled in admirably for the guy he's been watching since he was a kid, since that guy was hampered by an elbow injury and had to watch from the sideline.

While the rookie wasn't willing to label it an audition, the significance of his afternoon in Pittsburgh was not lost on him. It was Moncrief's first sizable chance to show what he could do.

It was an opportunity not wasted. And by the time it was over, he had seven catches for 113 yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career. Even the great Reggie Wayne never had a day like that as a rookie.

"I'm just scratching the surface," Moncrief said Friday. "There's so much more I can learn and get better at. I'm getting better each day watching these three guys in front of me – watching how they come off the ball, watching how they read defenses, watching how they come out of their routes."

The three guys in front of him – Wayne, T.Y. Hilton and Hakeem Nicks – will have to set aside room for Moncrief, who has emerged eight games into his NFL career as the Colts' latest weapon at wideout. And as difficult as it may be to find touches in the league's most potent offense – Indianapolis leads the NFL in total yards, passing yards and points per game – Moncrief has every bit proven he deserves a slice of the pie.

"Another feather in our caps, in a sense," said offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

"(Our opponents) have probably seen enough to say that he's got game-wrecking ability," added coach Chuck Pagano.

Moncrief speaks the part of the understudy, though, discussing Wayne in near-reverential tones. He lauds Hilton's explosiveness and Nicks' experience. Earning their trust – not to mention Andrew Luck's – keeps him humble and hungry.

So does dismissing the "too many drops" tag that trailed him after his three-year career at Ole Miss. Here he was, a 6-2, 221-pound SEC product, oozing with size and speed and big-play ability.

Yet 13 receivers heard their names called before Moncrief did on Draft Day last May.

What gives?

"I knew that was a knock coming out," he says of dropped passes. "It was a concentration thing. I was just trying to run before I caught the ball."

He hasn't eliminated the issue, dropping two passes in his breakout game. But his performance nonetheless speaks to his potential: If all goes to plan, Moncrief could saddle up alongside Hilton and form a formidable 1-2 punch at receiver for Luck and the Colts for years to come.

"He has all the upside it takes to becoming one of the best receivers in this league," teammate Greg Toler said. "And once that time comes around, man, the sky's the limit with him."

Take Sunday, Moncrief's finest outing as a pro. Early on, he took a short dump-off on third-and-3 and bolted 52 yards to help set up the Colts' first touchdown. The play was Indy's longest of the afternoon, and that's saying something on a team with T.Y. Hilton.

Later in the third quarter, on a third-and-5, Moncrief swiped a Luck pass in the end zone for a 31-yard score, the first of his NFL career.

"Sunday was a day to step up," was how he put it.

Progress came slowly at first, then swiftly – his 12 targets and 113 yards Sunday were more than his previous seven games combined. And it likely wouldn't have come, Moncrief says, without the tutelage he's received from his veteran teammates.

With Moncrief, the physical attributes were never in question. His understanding of the offense needed to grow. ("Learning that playbook, it was like Spanish at first," he admits.) He needed to absorb what the unit was trying to do, where to attack a defense, and why.

In other words, he needed to grab a seat next to Reggie Wayne.

"He's becoming more patient in his route running," said Toler, who squares up across Moncrief in practice each week. "He's learning to know when to come out of his burst. Back in camp, he'd come out too early – he'd jump the gun. Now, he's learning more about defenses and keeping his route clean."

There's plenty more to learn. Moncrief knows this, if only due to the fact he's got a teammate next to him that's still learning in his 14th season.

"Eventually, I want to be the guy that whenever I get the ball, everyone's looking for a big play," he said. "When it touches my hands, I want to do whatever I can to get into the end zone."

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.