Stephen Holder

Indianapolis Star

The last time the Colts and Texans met, Houston coach Bill O'Brien admittedly did not rank Indianapolis receiver Donte Moncrief among his highest priorities.

The emergence of the Colts' rookie receiver had not begun in earnest back in early October, at which point we'd seen only glimpses of what he might offer.

So, when O'Brien and his staff cued up film of the Colts ahead of this weekend's key AFC South matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium, he likely was taken aback by what he saw from Moncrief.

"He's definitely one of the most improved young players in our league," O'Brien said this week.

The Colts, it seems, agree. It's why we're seeing more and more of the third-round pick from Mississippi with each passing week.

That's happening in spite of the considerable challenge of earning playing time in the Colts offense for a rookie receiver – even one as immensely talented as Moncrief. That's why, despite fans who are clamoring to see more of the game-breaking, downfield threat, the Colts have brought him along slowly.

Moncrief and the Colts are aiming to make him a complete receiver, not just a deep-ball artist.

"Learning defenses, learning how to release (off the line of scrimmage), how to be patient," Moncrief cites some of the lessons he's had to learn. "I just sit back and watch T.Y. (Hilton), Reggie (Wayne) and Hakeem (Nicks) and how they play without the ball in their hands. That's the part that's amazing. When you're good even when the ball's not in your hands, you're really doing something."

But with every increase in his playing time, Moncrief is showing he can handle the workload.

He's proven himself a sharp route runner. He's a willing blocker. He can effectively run shorter routes to go along with his well-documented ability to go deep.

Playing in coordinator Pep Hamilton's offense as a rookie receiver is no small task. It is unlike many other schemes, where receiver positions are often designated by X, Y or Z labels, which identify where they line up on the field. In those offenses, each letter represents a position unto itself, allowing a receiver to learn a very specific role and find his way onto the field.

But the Colts offense uses no such designations. And Hamilton uses a seemingly endless number of personnel groups, meaning players have to be ready to play a wider variety of roles. For a kid like Moncrief, who recently turned 21 and is one of the youngest players in the NFL, it would be unsurprising if the mental aspects were overwhelming. But he's handled the volume adeptly, and that's going to earn him more playing time.

Actually, that and the fact that he can effortlessly run by defenders on his way to the end zone.

"It's just a matter of how fast they can acclimate themselves to our system," Hamilton said. "We pride ourselves in being multiple in not just our personnel groupings, but the different looks that we present to a defense. In our offense we don't have an X receiver or a Z receiver; You play wide receiver. You've got to know all the different spots and learn concepts and not just try and memorize one position and one segment of routes. So it takes time and I think, more importantly, it takes time to develop that trust from the quarterback, to earn the quarterback's trust.

"But it's obvious that he can make plays."

About that last part, the evidence is clear. Moncrief has just 27 catches this season, but he's made them count. His 15.7 yards per catch ranks fifth among rookie receivers who are in their team's regular rotations. That mark is better than first-round picks Kelvin Benjamin of the Panthers (14.4), Sammy Watkins of the Bills (14.2) and Odell Beckham of the Giants (14.1).

Moncrief, as the Colts have emphasized, must learn to do it all: Run underneath routes, catch balls in traffic, run block. But make no mistake as to why he is in a Colts uniform.

"He can do all of the above," Hamilton said. "But I think we drafted him to score touchdowns."

Moncrief has just three of those, but more are likely to come. His snap counts are increasing, while struggling veteran Hakeem Nicks' are decreasing. Against Cleveland last Sunday, Moncrief was on the field for 47 of the offense's 81 snaps (59 percent), while Nicks played just 17 (21 percent). Among the rookie's contributions was a diving 27-yard clutch catch on the game-winning drive.

Moncrief has proven he can handle the voluminous playbook, earned the trust of quarterback Andrew Luck and has shown he can make game-changing plays (he has plays of 52 and 79 yards). But now that O'Brien and other coaches are onto him, he's going to have to scale his next hurdle.

"He's going to start to attract a little bit more attention, so with that he's going to have to adjust," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "That will probably be the biggest obstacle that he's going to have to face moving forward."