The rookie left much to be desired in his first season.
Adonai Mitchell was all the talk out of camp for the Indianapolis Colts last season. He was making plays and flashing great potential. Coaches and fans both seemed excited to see what he could do on the field during his rookie season. Camp stars don’t always translate to game action, and while it is way too early to give up on him, it wasn’t exactly how we thought his first year was going to transpire. Receivers tend to take longer to develop at this level, so with plenty of opportunity and time to make a leap, the jury on Mitchell should still be out.
There were troubling signs from the beginning, however. Josh Downs was out to start the season, so Mitchell was thrust into a more prominent role. His first four games produced only two catches for 32-yards. He had trouble connecting with Anthony Richardson out of the gate. Mitchell appeared to also have some early season yips as he was targeted thirteen times but only hauled in two, with a few of those being extremely catchable. In the Packers game, he dropped one that hit him square in the chest. Although he started to come more into his own during the middle portion of the season, he seemingly disappeared down the stretch putting up numbers to match his start. Over the last five games he produced three catches on twelve targets.
On top of the 23 total receptions, there were two other areas of concern. He didn’t manage to cross the goal line once, although he did come within a half yard. I can live with that. Touchdowns will come with an increase in receptions and yards. The bigger issue was his aversion to contact. There were too many instances in which he seemed to shy away from a hit to make a catch or would pull up short. I don’t want his career to be cut short by an injury, but it is the NFL. People are getting paid big money to hit you. It is something to expect. If you want your quarterback looking your way, he needs to know you are going to do everything you can to make the play.
Receivers tend to make the biggest leaps between year one to two. There is no reason to give up or believe A.D. Mitchell can’t make it in this league. With that said, it was disappointing to not see more positives. The Colts have gotten used to high level receivers, and there was a twinge of hope that Mitchell could follow in that vein. He still could. Give him an offseason and more time to work with Anthony Richardson, and we could see a huge break out. The good news is that his numbers will certainly increase. The only question is by how much.