Year after finishing last in NFL in catch rate, Colts WR Adonai Mitchell is flashing talent

WESTFIELD, Ind. — The start of Adonai Mitchell’s second training camp looked a lot like his first NFL season.

Mitchell was getting a lot of targets.

He wasn’t doing much with them.

Mitchell dropped at least four passes in practice through the first week of training camp, and he struggled to make contested catches, at one point getting visibly and audibly frustrated with a quarterback after a throw that looked like it had given Mitchell a chance in the end zone, only to be knocked away.

“Honestly, it felt like something was in the air,” Mitchell said. “But I knew eventually it would come together. I know my hands work. I know my routes work. It was all just a matter of time, it was just a couple days’ slump.”

Mitchell’s issues looked a lot like his rookie season.

Drafted in the second round with an otherworldly athletic profile and an unconvincing statistical profile despite playing his college football at Georgia and Texas, Mitchell displayed a tantalizing ability to get open, but he often struggled to make the catch at the point of attack.

Mitchell caught 23 passes for 312 yards. His efficiency rate was ugly. Mitchell needed 55 targets to catch his 23 passes, producing a 41.8% catch rate that was by far the worst of any receiver in the NFL with at least 45 targets. Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks finished second-to-last with a catch rate of 48.2%; the top receiver in the NFL, Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown, caught 81.6% of the passes thrown his way.

Mitchell acknowledged at the end of the season that he needed to be “more of a professional” in his second year in the NFL.

“I knew I belonged,” Mitchell said. “I knew if someone leaves me one-on-one on an island, somebody’s going to regret it, and it ain’t going to be me.”

The problem has never been getting open.

Mitchell was given 55 targets because he has a knack for creating space between his body and the defensive back.

Finishing the play was the problem.

“We need that from him,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “We need that from everybody. That's one of my pillars, is consistency. And we need to be consistent all the time. Not sometimes – be the same guy every day and show up.”

Mitchell responded in the offseason by doubling down on what he does best.

The Colts drafted Mitchell because of his athleticism, and because of his knack for getting open.

“I feel like I do that very well,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes when you have a power, you want to keep refining it.”

The other problem, though, is that the way Mitchell creates space is often at odds with what his quarterback is seeing. Early in training camp, Mitchell struggled with either Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones at the game’s most important position.

“The main thing is probably building chemistry with the quarterbacks,” Mitchell said. “I feel like I run routes a little differently. Changing tempos, changing speeds a lot. Probably getting right with the quarterbacks was the biggest thing.”

Mitchell also has a tendency to lack urgency once the ball is in the air, leading to missed opportunities and drops.

The urgency was on display week.

Mitchell caught at least three deep balls in four practices this week, displaying the concentration and focus that often lapsed when he had a chance at a big catch as a rookie. Mitchell did not make a touchdown catch as a rookie; when he did have the ball in his hands, the rookie often made questionable decisions in the open field, making himself easier to tackle.

The longer the season progressed, the more pressure Mitchell felt.

“AD fits into the young player mold,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "Those guys, those receivers, they love when they get the opportunity to make those big plays, and for AD to have those opportunities, he's so excited to go make them. Sometimes it's easier for a receiver when you get 10 or 12 targets in a game than two or three, because you try so hard when you get those two or three, and sometimes you just got to play one play at a time, play after play after play.”

Indianapolis has largely played Mitchell behind Alec Pierce, another second-round wide receiver who needed some time to find his footing in the NFL, in this camp. Veteran wideout Michael Pittman Jr. has been sidelined most of the week due to a groin injury, but Indianapolis has mostly played veteran Ashton Dulin in Pittman's spot.

The Colts know Mitchell is talented.

They need him to fully realize his potential.

“I feel like I have a lot of ability,” Mitchell said. “I try to put it on full display every day, every snap.”

Early on in training camp, Mitchell’s ability often wasn’t easy to see.

The picture is getting clearer every day.

But there have been a lot of receivers with otherworldly athleticism who never put it all together in the NFL.

Mitchell has to prove he can put the inconsistencies of his rookie year behind him.  

Get IndyStar's Colts coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Colts Insider newsletter.