Andre Johnson to Indy?

[HawkeyeState]

Andre is 33 and Moncrief is 21. In dynasty football this signing does not change anything except in the eyes of myopic owners.

X2

[Dynasty DeLorean]

Goodbye Moncrief, my sweet prince.

[italian_stallion21]

Did anyone actually watch Andre last year? He was one of the worst WR's on Houston, so I wouldn't be so worried. Maybe Indy will rejuvenate him just like it did to Nicks.

[King Arthur]

What is Andre's value upon signing with Indy in terms of draft picks? Players? This affords an owner an opportunity to cash out to a contender slightly more than a couple weeks ago, right?

Yep.

In my eyes, it was the best possible landing spot for AJ. A top QB with a nice WR1 in Hilton to draw away extra attention... And best of all, it means he plays HOU twice per year, I'm sure he will be extra motivated.

I think it hurts Moncrief's upside but only short term... If you own him you grumble and hold for a year or two. And if you're a believer in him (I'm not), you could send out a speculative offer as you get closer to your draft...maybe a buy low opportunity if the owner is impatient.

[tmacdaman1]

Anyone downgrading Moncrief too much from this is going to look just as foolish as the people who ran his value up too high, too fast. Moncrief was stuck behind Wayne AND Nicks last year, so dumping those two and only bringing in Johnson is hardly a bad thing.

2014 stats:
Reggie Wayne - 116 targets
Hakeem Nicks - 70 targets
Donte Moncrief - 50 targets

Even if you simply give Wayne's targets to Johnson, there are still 70 targets out there for Moncrief to add to his total. He won't get them all, but don't fool yourself into thinking that Moncrief won't get a ton of balls thrown his way. Luck averaged over 41 pass attempts per game last year, the ball will still find it's way to Moncrief plenty of times. Everybody is quick to talk about the Packers supporting 3 WRs, but Luck threw 100 passes more than Rodgers last year.

Long-term, this changes very little for me as a Moncrief owner. Eliminating 1 of Nicks/Wayne was the important thing for me, and that is still happening. You can't expect to have everything at once. If Moncrief is as good as many hope he can be, he will have a long and extremely productive career.

[Cameron Giles]

I don't see how this hurts Moncrief. He gets to learn from one of the best wide receivers to ever play and it's another player to take the defenses attention

[HawkeyeState]

Did anyone actually watch Andre last year? He was one of the worst WR's on Houston, so I wouldn't be so worried. Maybe Indy will rejuvenate him just like it did to Nicks.

X2

[DecafMaverick]

As a Moncrief owner, I'm excited they're bringing in Andre. He will get to learn from yet another vet, and one that is going to be DRIVEN to win a Super Bowl. He's still very, very young, and I'm not completely sure he was ready for a starting role in the spotlight. Another year of seasoning will serve him well.

Word in Indy is that Frank Gore and Andre Johnson are on Irsay's private jet headed into Indianapolis International Airport at this very moment. Gore and Johnson are clearly short-term, "let's see what we can do right now" signings. Wouldn't it be amazing if the Colts landed Gurley/Gordon and allowed him to work on the transition into the NFL, and learn from Gore. Dreams...

[kmbryant09]

Anyone downgrading Moncrief too much from this is going to look just as foolish as the people who ran his value up too high, too fast. Moncrief was stuck behind Wayne AND Nicks last year, so dumping those two and only bringing in Johnson is hardly a bad thing.

2014 stats:
Reggie Wayne - 116 targets
Hakeem Nicks - 70 targets
Donte Moncrief - 50 targets

Even if you simply give Wayne's targets to Johnson, there are still 70 targets out there for Moncrief to add to his total. He won't get them all, but don't fool yourself into thinking that Moncrief won't get a ton of balls thrown his way. Luck averaged over 41 pass attempts per game last year, the ball will still find it's way to Moncrief plenty of times. Everybody is quick to talk about the Packers supporting 3 WRs, but Luck threw 100 passes more than Rodgers last year.

Long-term, this changes very little for me as a Moncrief owner. Eliminating 1 of Nicks/Wayne was the important thing for me, and that is still happening. You can't expect to have everything at once. If Moncrief is as good as many hope he can be, he will have a long and extremely productive career.

And Indy is going out to upgrade the RB position and O-Line so that they don't have to throw it 41 times a game. I don't expect them to only throw it 25 times a game, but with a slightly better Defense and running game, maybe they only throw 37 times a game. That takes away 64 targets - just about all of what Nicks is leaving behind. Also, Dwayne Allen is returning, and he'll certainly draw some of the extra looks, if they are available to go around.

[Plank]

wonder how much he helped Nuk become a better pro...

I really think it takes both types of owners for good leagues, the guy who values Moncrief at 3rd round ADP and the guy that thinks that is way too high .. neither is wrong or right, just different philosophies..

[voiceofunreason]

Good to see delusional Moncrief owners keeping it up.

[tmacdaman1]

Anyone downgrading Moncrief too much from this is going to look just as foolish as the people who ran his value up too high, too fast. Moncrief was stuck behind Wayne AND Nicks last year, so dumping those two and only bringing in Johnson is hardly a bad thing.

2014 stats:
Reggie Wayne - 116 targets
Hakeem Nicks - 70 targets
Donte Moncrief - 50 targets

Even if you simply give Wayne's targets to Johnson, there are still 70 targets out there for Moncrief to add to his total. He won't get them all, but don't fool yourself into thinking that Moncrief won't get a ton of balls thrown his way. Luck averaged over 41 pass attempts per game last year, the ball will still find it's way to Moncrief plenty of times. Everybody is quick to talk about the Packers supporting 3 WRs, but Luck threw 100 passes more than Rodgers last year.

Long-term, this changes very little for me as a Moncrief owner. Eliminating 1 of Nicks/Wayne was the important thing for me, and that is still happening. You can't expect to have everything at once. If Moncrief is as good as many hope he can be, he will have a long and extremely productive career.

And Indy is going out to upgrade the RB position and O-Line so that they don't have to throw it 41 times a game. I don't expect them to only throw it 25 times a game, but with a slightly better Defense and running game, maybe they only throw 37 times a game. That takes away 64 targets - just about all of what Nicks is leaving behind. Also, Dwayne Allen is returning, and he'll certainly draw some of the extra looks, if they are available to go around.

37 pass attempts per game would put them at 13th in the league. Do you really believe an offense with Andrew Luck will pass it the 13th most times (right ahead of Buffalo) in the league because they added Frank Gore? Come on now. Indy was middle of the pack (18th) in rushing attempts per game. There is absolutely no reason for any of that to change - they will continue to throw the ball 40 times a game.

[sehon4]

I just traded Ladarius Green straight up for Andre Johnson. That way I can place Moncrief on practice squad for the next 2 years while Andre plays if he is signed. I hedged my bet.

[ninotoreS]

Folks, Indy hasn't actually signed Andre Johnson yet. He flew together with Gore to Indy, and Gore has already signed, so that tells us Johnson hasn't made up his own mind yet.

And Philly is likely to still make another hard run at him, if Andre is willing to hear it. Honestly, they need Johnson more than Indy does, and all these big signings on defense Philly has made might convince Johnson that the Eagles are a contender this year, too.

But if we must jump-the-gun speculate...

I'm a Moncrief owner, and I think if Andre Johnson is signed, at minimum it will keep Moncrief from being anything more than a fantasy WR3 in 2015. With that being said, he's still super young and can afford to wait another year before being handed a starting gig. It's not a big deal.

As a Moncrief owner, I'm excited they're bringing in Andre. He will get to learn from yet another vet

This is also a fair point, btw. I saw it reported many times how Moncrief was trying very hard to learn from Wayne, and it sort of bugs me that he only got one year with him. But Andre Johnson might be an even better mentor for Moncrief's particular skill-set and physical profile. Indeed, physically, Andre Johnson was my ideal player comparison for Moncrief when I was evaluating the latter before drafting him.

[kmbryant09]

Anyone downgrading Moncrief too much from this is going to look just as foolish as the people who ran his value up too high, too fast. Moncrief was stuck behind Wayne AND Nicks last year, so dumping those two and only bringing in Johnson is hardly a bad thing.

2014 stats:
Reggie Wayne - 116 targets
Hakeem Nicks - 70 targets
Donte Moncrief - 50 targets

Even if you simply give Wayne's targets to Johnson, there are still 70 targets out there for Moncrief to add to his total. He won't get them all, but don't fool yourself into thinking that Moncrief won't get a ton of balls thrown his way. Luck averaged over 41 pass attempts per game last year, the ball will still find it's way to Moncrief plenty of times. Everybody is quick to talk about the Packers supporting 3 WRs, but Luck threw 100 passes more than Rodgers last year.

Long-term, this changes very little for me as a Moncrief owner. Eliminating 1 of Nicks/Wayne was the important thing for me, and that is still happening. You can't expect to have everything at once. If Moncrief is as good as many hope he can be, he will have a long and extremely productive career.

And Indy is going out to upgrade the RB position and O-Line so that they don't have to throw it 41 times a game. I don't expect them to only throw it 25 times a game, but with a slightly better Defense and running game, maybe they only throw 37 times a game. That takes away 64 targets - just about all of what Nicks is leaving behind. Also, Dwayne Allen is returning, and he'll certainly draw some of the extra looks, if they are available to go around.

37 pass attempts per game would put them at 13th in the league. Do you really believe an offense with Andrew Luck will pass it the 13th most times (right ahead of Buffalo) in the league because they added Frank Gore? Come on now. Indy was middle of the pack (18th) in rushing attempts per game. There is absolutely no reason for any of that to change - they will continue to throw the ball 40 times a game.

Well, Indianapolis threw the ball more than every single team in the league, and I believe ran more total plays than every team in the league. With a slightly better overall team, and a ***slightly*** more balanced offense, I don't think it's a stretch that Luck averages ***only*** 37 pass attempts per game.

Anyways, Luck's going to throw the ball a ton. He spreads the ball out. Hilton will be the primary target. Andre Johnson figures to be the #2 look in the offense. Fleener was actually very involved in the offense. Dwayne Allen is coming back.

Look, I think this can be a beneficial move for Moncrief's career - I really do. But if you don't see this as anything but a downgrade for 2015, you are absolutely delusional. Considering he's going in the mid-3rd in Start-ups, taking a huge hit in 2015 production is a significant hit to a player's overall value.

Think about it - teams are literally drafting him as their WR 1 or WR 2. Not a developmental prospect to sit on their bench for a few years and develop. Moncrief = way overdrafted.