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Former Notre Dame WR Kris Mitchell invited to Las Vegas Raiders mini camp

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•05/01/25•

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kris mitchell-2
Notre Dame wide receiver Kris Mitchell. (Mike Miller, Blue & Gold)

Kris Mitchell‘s one season in South Bend could have been a bit more productive. Still, the former Notre Dame wide receiver is getting a chance to make an NFL roster.

The Las Vegas Raiders invited Mitchell to rookie mini camp later this month.

Mitchell is the fifth former Notre Dame player who was not selected in last week’s draft to get a mini camp invite, joining running back Devyn Ford (Las Vegas Raiders), cornerback Max Hurleman (Pittsburgh Steelers), kicker Mitch Jeter (Minnesota Vikings) and defensive end RJ Oben (Kansas City Chiefs).

Notre Dame had six NFL draft choices this year; cornerback Benjamin Morrison (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), safety Xavier Watts (Atlanta Falcons), linebacker Jack Kiser (Jacksonville Jaguars), defensive tackle Rylie Mills (Seattle Seahawks), tight end Mitchell Evans (Carolina Panthers) and quarterback Riley Leonard (Indianapolis Colts).

Notre Dame was attracted to Mitchell as a transfer portal prospect ahead of the 2024 season because of the 64 catches, 1,118 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns he posted in 12 games at Florida International in 2023. But with Notre Dame, Mitchell only had 22 catches, 224 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns for the Fighting Irish. The yardage total ranked sixth among all Irish pass-catchers.

In six collegiate seasons, including a redshirt as a true freshman in 2019 and the COVID season in 2020, Mitchell caught 122 passes for 1,887 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Perhaps most impressively, Mitchell did not drop a single pass in 2024. He was the only Notre Dame player who was targeted at least 10 times who could say that. His 37 targets ranked fifth among all Irish receiving options, which actually put him relatively on par for where he finished in the receiving yards hierarchy.

Another quality NFL scouts look for in wide receivers who didn’t jump off the page with their pass-catching production — how’s the blocking? Mitchell was Notre Dame’s No. 2 run-blocking wide receiver in 2024 according to Pro Football Focus. He turned in a season-long run-blocking grade of 68.5. Only Beaux Collins had a better number among Irish wideouts. His was 70.2 and ranked fifth on the team.

Like Collins, Mitchell’s best stretch of his one season with the Irish came right smack-dab in the middle of it when Notre Dame was asserting itself as a College Football Playoff contender a month after an inexplicable loss to Northern Illinois. In runaway victories over Stanford, Georgia Tech and Navy, Mitchell caught 7 passes for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns. Might not seem like much, but that’s nearly one-third of his season total for catches, exactly one-fourth of his receiving yardage and 100 percent of his touchdown total.

The consistency never came Mitchell’s way; he had four games in which he did not catch a single pass. But he kept showing up and even caught 2 passes in the national title game against Ohio State. Important to note Notre Dame’s passing game was never a juggernaut in 2024, too; Mitchell could very well find his way again with the right situation in the NFL.

He’s getting that opportunity.

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