Donte Moncrief

AFC South Notes: Richardson, Moncrief, Foster

Trent Richardson is coming off a miserable season after the Colts traded a first-round pick to acquire him early last season, but he is committed to making more of an impact in 2013, writes Stephen Holder of the Indy Star. He wants to contribute as a three-down back, improve his pass protection, and has a goal in his mind in terms of rushing yards. He would not give out the number but admitted that it was higher than 1,000 yards,

Here are some other notes from around the AFC South:

  • A surprise from the Colts‘ depth chart was rookie receiver Donte Moncrief being listed as the teams starting kick returner, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com.
    “We want to win,” said head coach Chuck Pagano. “If he gives us the best opportunity to win as a kick returner as well as the receiver, then we are going to put him out there.”
  • The Titans had a joint practice with the Falcons today, and rookie offensive tackle Taylor Lewan got his first taste against defensive lineman from an opponent. Lewan held his own, writes John Glennon of the Tennesseean, but drew one flag for holding. He is currently battling with Michael Oher to be the team’s starting right tackle.
  • Texans‘ running back Arian Foster struggled with injuries in 2013, that caused him to consider leaving the game of football. He admitted so in an interview with ESPN’s Hannah Storm. Tania Ganguli, who covers the Texans for the Worldwide Leader, transcribed this part of the interview.

Colts Notes: Fullback, Whalen, Nixon

Following the Colts minicamp, coach Chuck Pagano realized how much talent he has on his squad. Pagano relayed the message to his team:

“It will be really, really difficult to get to 53 this year,” said Pagano (via Mike Chappell of IndyStar.com). “The final cutdown is going to be difficult.”

Chappell decided to give the coach a hand and give his crack at the roster. Here are some of the more interesting notes, along with two bonus tweets from the Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder…

  • At fullback, Chappell chose Mario Harvey over Stanley Havili. Harvey, a former linebacker, is switching to the offensive side of the ball. Havili has 218 career all-purpose yards.
  • The writer took LaVon Brazill and Da’Rick Rogers at wide receiver, but notes that Griff Whalen could beat out the duo.
  • For the final tight end spot, Chappell sided with Jack Doyle over Weslye Saunders, but adds that the team could very well carry four at the position.
  • Chappell envisions a year on the practice squad for seventh-round pick Ulrick John.
  • Jeris Pendleton earned Chappell’s final spot on the defensive line, but the writer warns that the job could be Brandon McKinney‘s if the veteran has regained form following his two knee injuries.
  • Holder tweets that former undrafted offensive tackle Xavier Nixon “is a keeper.” The 23-year-old made his NFL debut last season.
  • Holder also tweets that rookie wideout Donte Moncrief has looked good and is making coaches excited.

Colts Finish Signing Draft Picks

The Colts have signed third-round wide reciever Donte Moncrief to his four-year rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release. Indianapolis had the league’s smallest draft class, with just five selections, and Moncrief becomes the last of those five players to put pen to paper.

Moncrief, who decided to forgo his senior season and enter the draft early, caught 156 balls for 2,371 yards and 20 touchdowns during his three years at Mississippi, including 59 for 938 yards in 2013. Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the wideout’s signing bonus will be $543K+, with an overall four-year contract value of about $2.794MM. Since they only had five picks and no first-rounder, the Colts’ signing bonus pool was the smallest in the NFL this season — the team’s five draftees combined for just $1.796MM in bonus money, according to Fitzgerald.

By signing Moncrief, the Colts become the ninth NFL team to finish locking up its draft class. The Bills, Bears, Chiefs, Saints, Chargers, 49ers, Seahawks, and Redskins have also signed all of their picks, and many other clubs are just one player away. You can track all the signings right here.

Brandt’s Latest: Fuller, Moncrief, Archer

Draft expert and former Cowboys VP of player personnel Gil Brandt shared a few draft updates this afternoon, via Twitter, so let’s jump in and briefly round up the highlights from the NFL.com veteran….

  • Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller, who paid a visit to the Bills today, has had 15 visits or workouts with NFL teams so far, and has four more lined up this week with the Rams, Jets, Steelers, and Broncos.
  • Brandt adds a slew of teams to the list of those who have worked out or hosted Ole Miss receiver Donte Moncrief so far, tweeting that Moncrief has visited the Buccaneers, Cardinals, and Panthers, and has worked out for the Bucs, Panthers, Colts, and Falcons.
  • Having already visited the Dolphins, Patriots, Cardinals, and Colts, Kent State running back Dri Archer, is on to the Buccaneers and Jets this week.
  • Colorado wideout Paul Richardson, who has put on a few pounds since the draft combine, has workouts or visits with the Buccaneers, Cowboys, 49ers, and Seahawks. It’s not entirely clear if those visits and workouts are still on Richardson’s schedule, or if they’ve already happened.

AFC Notes: Dolphins, FA Grades, Manziel

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that, although wide receiver might be the deepest position on the Dolphins‘ roster, and although the team likes the top receivers on its depth chart–Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson, and Rishard Matthews–Miami wants to continue adding to its receiving corps.

The Dolphins were unable to land Nate Burleson, who ultimately signed with the Browns, but they did recently add Damian Williams along with “long shots” Kevin Cone and Mike Rios. More importantly, they have devoted at least three of their 30 official visits to wide receivers who are projected to be taken in the first several rounds of next month’s draft. The team will visit with Ole Miss receiver Donte Moncrief and Clemson wideout Martavis Bryant, along with USC’s Marqise Lee.

As Jackson observes, the attention to receivers is motivated at least in part by the recent surgeries that Hartline, Gibson, and the “intriguing” Armon Binns have undergone. No doubt the Dolphins are also intent on giving quarterback Ryan Tannehill as many explosive weapons as possible by mining the deepest wide receiver draft class in recent memory.

Some more notes from around the AFC:

  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com continues his series of offseason evaluations as he takes a look at how AFC West teams fared in free agency. He believes the Raiders‘ offseason looks like an attempt to recreate a Pro Bowl roster from 2009 and gives the team a “D” grade (link), while the Chiefs and Chargers receive similarly disappointing “C-” grades (links here). The Broncos, meanwhile, receive a “B” for their efforts (link), as Fitzgerald respects their bold acquisitions but wonders if Eric Decker and Darrelle Revis would have made more sense than Emmanuel Sanders and Aqib Talib. Since the team is sacrificing its cap health in 2015 anyway, Decker/Revis indubitably looks like the better play on paper.
  • Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun provides a similar evaluation of the Ravens‘ offseason, noting that the club has “closed the gap” in the AFC North with its savvy series of re-signings and modest but potentially valuable additions like Steve Smith and Owen Daniels.
  • After writing that the Texans would take Johnny Manizel and Blake Bortles in his first two mock drafts, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle has shifted gears and now believes the team will select Jadeveon Clowney with the No. 1 overall pick.
  • ESPN Insider Field Yates (subscription required) takes a look at how the Browns and Jaguars have gone about their respective rebuilding processes and evaluates the merits of each approach.

Draft Visits: Raiders, Falcons, Bucs, Dolphins

It would be a surprise if Jadeveon Clowney is still on the board when the Raiders pick fifth overall in next month’s draft, but Oakland will nonetheless host the standout defensive end for a visit next week, according to John Middlekauff of 95.7 The Game (via Twitter). The team is also hosting Pittsburgh quarterback Tom Savage for a visit today, according to ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez. Savage isn’t a candidate for that No. 5 pick, but he’s drawn plenty of attention lately, and seems to be rising up a few draft boards.

Here’s more on pre-draft visits around the NFL:

  • The Falcons are hosting Boise State pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence for a pre-draft visit, according to ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. Agent David Canter recently tweeted that Lawrence has visits to 10 teams scheduled in a two-week span.
  • McClure also reports (via Twitter) that Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews has a visit lined up with the Falcons for the week of April 21.
  • Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post passes along updates on a pair of prospects. According to Wilson, Arizona State linebacker Carl Bradford has met with the Jaguars, Dolphins, Chargers, and Falcons, while Marshall offensive tackle Garrett Scott is visiting the Raiders today after having also visited the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Buccaneers.
  • Florida State running back Devonta Freeman is among the players visiting the Dolphins today, writes Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, adding that Freeman has also visited the Falcons and Patriots.
  • Another Florida State running back, James Wilder Jr., tells Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link) that he worked out for the Buccaneers today.
  • We’ve already heard plenty of reports about Kyle Fuller’s pre-draft visits, but Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter link) adds a few more teams to Fuller’s list. According to Brandt, the Virginia Tech cornerback has worked out for the Titans, Buccaneers, and Falcons, and will also do so for the Bills and Rams, among other clubs.
  • Ole Miss wideout Donte Moncrief, who previously visited the Steelers, will work out for the Dolphins and Broncos next week, tweets Brandt.
  • UCF running back Storm Johnson will visit the 49ers on Monday and the Falcons later this month, says Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (Twitter links).

AFC Draft Notes: Jets, Texans, Ravens

April is typically draft month for the NFL, but that’s not the case in 2014 — we’ve still got another five-plus weeks until this year’s three-day event gets underway on May 8. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t several rumors and reports floating around about teams’ potential draft plans. Here are a few of the latest items on AFC clubs:

  • The Jets are intrigued by Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro, a team source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Amaro is scheduled to visit the Jets in the coming weeks, and Mehta suggests the tight end could be on the board when the club picks in the second round.
  • It’s no surprise that the Texans‘ signing of Ryan Fitzpatrick wouldn’t affect the possibility of the team drafting a quarterback next month. However, it’s a little surprising that, even with Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, and T.J. Yates on board, head coach Bill O’Brien suggested the Texans could add multiple QBs in the draft (Twitter link via official Texans account).
  • Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Florida State wideout Kelvin Benjamin, Utah cornerback Keith McGill, and Cal linebacker Khairi Fortt are making official pre-draft visits with the Ravens today, league sources tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Despite the fact that the Dolphins signed Knowshon Moreno and like Lamar Miller, the club has interest in adding another running back in the draft, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, who says it could happen in the fourth or fifth round.
  • A pair of teams announced pre-draft visits, as the Bills host Indiana wide receiver Cody Latimer and Notre Dame tight end Troy Niklas, while Ole Miss receiver Donte Moncrief and Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk visit the Steelers (Twitter link).