Sunday’s third training camp practice was by far the best for Colts’ rookie receiver AD Mitchell, who made quite a bit of noise on with two highlight-reel catches.
According to Jake Arthur of Horseshoe Huddle, Mitchell’s first reception in the team period came from Joe Flacco and went for roughly 15-20 yards on a catch he made between two defenders.
The second play came on a deep ball down the right sideline with Dallis Flowers in coverage and Mitchell falling to the ground to make the 40-yard catch. Arthur notes that Mitchell’s helmet came off during the play as he fell to the ground and was followed by Mitchell yelling in celebration with the crowd on hand.
Mitchell, a second-round pick by the Colts in this year’s draft, brings an added big-play presence to the offense with his 4.34 speed. However, Mitchell is much more than just a deep threat and is someone who can make an impact at all levels of the field with his explosiveness and route running abilities.
“I think he’s got a rare ability to separate at the top of routes. He’s got an arsenal of releases versus press man, you can see it show up on tape,” said Shane Steichen. “He’s going to bring that speed element and that big-play ability too as well.”
The Colts may be one year removed from drafting wide receiver Josh Downs in the second round–just as they did with Mitchell–and watching him put together a very successful first season. Downs was one of the more productive slot receivers in football in 2023, totaling 771 yards in what GM Chris Ballard believed was a very under-the-radar season.
However, what worked for Downs may not work for Mitchell when it comes to being worked into the starting offense. As offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said on Saturday, the team isn’t going to simply copy and paste when it comes to Mitchell, who is his own player.
“I think every situation is different,” said Cooter. “You got to be careful sort of copying and pasting last year’s answer to this year’s situation. So, we’re excited about AD, and we’re going to let him get a bunch of reps in a bunch of different situations.
“But shoot, Alec’s (Pierce) played a bunch of good football too. We’re going to make sure and let those guys all rep it out and try to go get open versus our DBs, who are going to make it tough for them and see what’s best for the Colts.”
Since arriving in Indianapolis, Mitchell has leaned heavily on veteran receiver Michael Pittman, trying to learn everything that he can from him.
Mitchell and Pierce are competing for the starting reps opposite of Michael Pittman in the offense. While up to this point in his career, Pierce has primarily provided a vertical presence, it is his goal this summer to showcase his versatility.
As training camp unfolds, it’ll be Mitchell’s high upside competing with Pierce’s NFL experience.
Whoever ends up as the starter, doesn’t mean that the other receiver won’t have a role. However, with roughly 96 percent of the Colts’ offensive snaps in 2023 coming with three or fewer receivers on the field, with Pittman and Downs, there is more often than not only going to be room for one of these receivers on the field at a time.
In addition to Mitchell’s big plays on Sunday, Pierce had one of his own, coming down with a 20-yard completion on a pass from Anthony Richardson.