Adonai Mitchell Full Scouting Report

The Indianapolis Colts selected receiver Adonai Mitchell with the 52nd pick in the draft. Mitchell was expected to be a first round pick, but slid in the draft. Here is a full breakdown of Mitchell’s game:

Strengths

• Great size and athleticism with fantastic top-end speed.
• Smooth and fluid in and out of cuts; his speed cuts are as nice as any player in this class.
• Shows to ability to win 50/50 balls and make tough catches in traffic and in tight spaces.

• One of the lowest drop rates in all of college football at 1.8%.
• Attacks DB’s in and out of cuts; can draw them inside to turn their body and then immediately go outside to gain separation.

• Can stop on a dive and has incredible stop/start ability (very key for good route runners)

Weaknesses

• Effort is a big question; he doesn’t engage fully in blocks and takes a lot of routes off.

• Despite his good play in tight spaces/traffic, I’d like to see him go attack the ball in the air and snag it with his hands instead of trying to bring his body to the ball.
• Slightly limited route tree: most of his routes are slants, screens, drags, in/outs and fades.
• Not an impressive run blocker; it’s partially due to effort but also due to technique. Doesn’t attack with the right angles. Showed improvement in this area after the Rice game.

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Other Information

• Played for Georgia in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Texas for the 2023 season.
• 2nd team All Conference in 2023
• Two time National Champion with Georgia
• Nickname is “AD”

Stats

2021: 15 Games | 29 catches, 426 yards, 4 touchdowns

2022: 6 Games | 9 catches, 134 yards, 3 touchdowns

2023: 14 Games | 55 catches, 845 yards, 11 touchdowns

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Summary

Adonai Mitchell has 1st round talent, but questions have surrounded his effort and character in recent weeks. While effort issues are apparent at times, the questions about his character were refuted in a very fiery way from Chris Ballard. With us looking at the draft from the outside, we have to take Ballard’s word that the questions about his character are “BS”.

As a player, Mitchell checks off a ton of boxes. He’s well built, speedy, explosive and shifty. As a route runner, he’s somewhat limited in his route tree, but he has smooth cuts, shows some subtleties that are advanced and has a few nice releases off the line. He has good hands and wins in traffic down the field, but could be even better if he learns how to high point passes and snag balls out of the air before they hit his body.

The effort issues will haunt him until he proves to be a dominant force in the league. As shown above, he can take some reps off and his run blocking can be lacklustre. A strong motivator as a coach and a supportive environment can bring out the best in him. What helps is that he’s already motivated after his slide in the draft. It’s a boom or bust type of pick, but the potential is sky high.

Fit with the Colts

It’s obvious the Colts drafted him to potentially take over Alec Pierce’s spot. He fits well as an outside receiver on the team, whether it’s as a split-end or a flanker. With Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr being the true possession guys undernearth, expect the Colts to utilize Mitchell’s speed and Richardson’s arm to stretch defenses. He won’t be given the job so he will be battling Alec Pierce from the beginning in what will be one of the most anticipated battles in training camp.

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