After a slow start to the season, former Longhorns star Adonai Mitchell had his best game as pro on Sunday against the Bills. The former second-round pick was more involved than ever before, showing why the Colts prioritized him in the NFL Draft.
Against the Bills, Mitchell recorded a career-high six receptions for 71 yards. Mitchell made the most of his career-high 58 snaps and was one of the Colts’ best players. While Mitchell’s efforts were not enough to secure a win, his play stood out to many, including Colts quarterback Joe Flacco.
“He probably had a lot more snaps and was in position to come up big when he needed to, and he did a good job,” Flacco told the media postgame on Sunday. “He looked comfortable out there, caught the ball well, did a lot of good things. It’s unfortunate that it comes in a game like this where you can’t feel as good about it as you want to, but he did a good job.”
With ten games in the books, Mitchell currently ranks fifth on the Colts in receptions with 18 and receiving yards with 211 yards. He does not have a touchdown yet but is averaging 11.7 yards a catch. While the 22-year-old has not had the same success as his former teammate, Xavier Worthy, he has looked much better of late.
In his last four games, Mitchell has received at least three targets three times. As the season has progressed, he has become more of a factor and has seen his hard work pay off.
“It’s all a matter of just getting reps, learning through reps, learning through wins, learning through losses,” Mitchell said. “Kind of figuring out why you won, why you lost, and kind of just helping yourself get better. And I’ve grown a lot – just credit to the guys around me and obviously my receiver coach. We all push each other, and we all force each other to get better and grow.”
Although the Colts season has been full of ups and downs, this is the player they expected to get when they drafted Mitchell, and he is starting to read his coaches for his patience.