With Michael Pittman out for Sunday’s game against the Bills, presumably, that means more opportunities for Indianapolis Colts rookie receiver AD Mitchell.
“Just gotta pick up the slack,” said Josh Downs about Pittman’s absence. “Me, Alec, AD–really AD. He going to be playing a lot more. We just gotta step up to fill the void.”
It was a slow start to the season for Mitchell, who caught only two of his first 13 targets, with him and Anthony Richardson often not on the same page.
From Day 1, the athleticism and route-running talent that Mitchell possesses were evident. However, like many rookies, he is navigating the learning curve that comes with making the jump from college to the NFL level.
However, over the last several games, Mitchell has been trending in the right direction. Since Week 5, he has caught 10-of-15 passes for 108 yards, including three of those receptions going for at least 15 yards.
But even so, Mitchell’s playing time has been sporadic, with him averaging just over 12 snaps per game since Week 3, including a season-low of five against Minnesota, with Ashton Dulin often out-snapping the rookie.
Sure, Dulin and his experience brings stability and reliability to the position, but Mitchell’s upside and potential is much higher. With or without Pittman in the mix, for a passing game that needs more juice, Mitchell needs more snaps.
“I don’t know about right around the corner,” said receivers coach Reggie Wayne when asked if Mitchell was about to take off. “He just needs more snaps. It’s no different than when I was a rookie. I just needed more snaps, I needed more opportunities to go in there and do it and that’ll come, that’ll come with time.”
While up and down play should still be expected, the fewer the snaps Mitchell sees each week, the longer the learning curve is going to be. As Wayne said, he needs more reps to work through the growing pains.
Awaiting the Colts’ passing game is a Bills’ defense that has been one of the best at forcing takeaways this season. Buffalo also ranks top 10 in yards per pass attempt allowed and have surrendered the third-lowest explosive pass play rate among all defenses.
Success for the Indianapolis offense is going to begin with getting Jonathan Taylor and the run game going against a defense that ranks 26th in yards per rush allowed.
“He’s up for the challenge,” added Wayne. “He’s up for the task. He’s ready whenever we need him to, but it’ll come around. I mean, he’s had, in my opinion, three great weeks of practice, so hopefully it will translate to the game.”