Adonai Mitchell wearing No. 10 with Colts for number of receivers picked before him
Most NFL Draft analysts predicted Adonai Mitchell would be a late first rounder. But the former Texas Longhorn tumbled to the end of the second before the Colts selected him with the 52nd pick.
Mitchell had a painfully long time to count the receivers who went ahead of him. He was supposed to go somewhere after the big three — Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. Instead, Mitchell went outside the top 10 receivers.
Remember that number. Mitchell certainly will. As the Colts started minicamp this week, Mitchell chose his number based on 10. As in, he was the 11th receiver off the board, with 10 going before him. There’s a key method to this motivation and he’ll remember it every day he puts on his Colts jersey.
“Just going through the whole process of the draft, seeing 10 receivers go before me,” Mitchell told reporters, explaining his jersey choice. “Once they told me that number (10) was available – I originally picked another number. But then I was just up late thinking about it. I couldn’t get it off my mind. I was like, yeah, bro, lemme get 10.”
New Colts receiver checked off all the best draft traits
Mitchell talked more about the choice.
“At the end of the day, it is what it is,” Mitchell said. “I’m not bitter about it or anything like that. Definitely congratulations and happy for the people that got picked. But it’s just — at the end of the day, it was between me and them, and they got picked, so that’s all motivation.”
Mitchell certainly owned a terrific draft resume. He played at Georgia before he transferred to Texas. So check off blue blood programs. And while competing for both those programs, he caught five touchdowns in his playoff appearances. That counts as competing on the biggest stage.
Then there was his physical stature. He’s 6-2 and 205 pounds. And he ran a 4.34-second time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
He seemed to be a can’t miss, first-round kind of prospect. Yet 10 receivers went ahead of him, including his teammate Xavier Worthy.
Indy reloaded around QB Anthony Richardson
The Colts were more than happy to nab Mitchell.
“I think he’s got a rare ability to separate at the top of routes,” said Colts coach Shane Steichen. “He’s got an arsenal of releases versus press man. You can see it show up on tape. … The guy is a competitor. To get him where we got him, I couldn’t be more fired up about it.”
Mitchell is a nice detail to a Colts offense that’ll be led by Anthony Richardson, who is back after shoulder surgery. There’s also star receiver Michael Pittman, who recently agreed to a $68 million, three-year extension. Then there’s Jelani Woods a 6-7 tight end, and running back Jonathan Taylor.