When the 2025 NFL season began, the Indianapolis Colts had what appeared to be the ingredients of an elite receiving corps. They had a possession receiver in Michael Pittman Jr., a deep threat in Alec Pierce, and a slot option in Josh Downs, each of whom was above the norm in their specialized area.
They also had an up-and-coming fourth receiver in Adonai Mitchell, with a world of talent who appeared to need only a chance to shine.
A year later, things look very different. Pittman and Mitchell are gone, and Pierce is injured, leaving Downs as the only surefire survivor from the 2025 group. Just two weeks into the season, Shane Steichen had to rely on veteran Laquon Treadwell, who has caught just seven passes in the last four years, to play a major role in the aerial attack.
Did the Indianapolis Colts make a mistake in giving away Adonai Mitchell?
Meanwhile, AD Mitchell is reviving a career that seemed stillborn when he was in Indianapolis.
And it begs the question: why were the Colts unable to develop a receiver they thought enough to choose in the second round of the 2024 draft? Did they give up on him too soon? Was it simply another miscalculation in the second round, something that appears to be happening with alarming frequency lately?
It sure seemed like the Colts could have used Mitchell in their Sunday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But he was a thousand miles away, wearing a different jersey.
In retrospect, Mitchell’s time in Indy was doomed from the moment he carelessly fumbled away a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4 of the 2025 season. Early in the third quarter, the 3-0 Colts were on the road against one of the best teams in the league and holding their own.
Trailing 13-10, they were about to take the lead when Daniel Jones hit Mitchell deep down the left sideline. Mitchell made a sensational catch and then pulled away for a certain score.
This was the kind of play Chris Ballard envisioned when he chose the gifted receiver. But Mitchell simply dropped the ball just before crossing the goal line, resulting in a fumble. The Colts ended up losing late in a close game. In the fourth quarter, the receiver’s holding penalty negated a Jonathan Taylor 53-yard touchdown run that may have won the game.
These were the kinds of careless plays Mitchell had become known for. He was relegated to the bench for most of the rest of the season and was an apparent throw-in as part of the deal that brought Sauce Gardner to town. Ballard gave up two first-round draft picks for Gardner. That was the main focus of the trade. By that point, Mitchell seemed like a spare part.
In ten games with the Jets, here’s what Adonai Mitchell has done.
33 catches on 73 targets. 19 of those receptions have resulted in first downs. These are not earth-shattering numbers. Not by a long shot. But they are better across the board than what he produced in 25 games as a Colt. He has scored as many touchdowns and racked up almost as many yards in fewer than half the games he played for Shane Steichen.
In other words, this is the natural development Colts fans expected to see under Steichen. Why didn’t it happen? Why did Ballard end up simply giving away a receiver with this kind of potential?
This is part of a deeper story about player development and about the manner in which the club has mangled its once-promising receiving corps. It is reasonable to wonder now if Alec Pierce wasn’t rushed back onto the field before he was ready, and if Adonai Mitchell’s presence would have changed that decision.
Mitchell still has a lot of developing to do. His catch percentage is far too low in relation to his yards-per-catch and average depth of target. But he is already showing signs of that natural development in New York. In Week 2 against Green Bay, he drew two major penalties on the Packers’ defensive backs, blocked well in the run game, and converted four first downs.
Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen need to explain why Adonai Mitchell is not doing that in a Colts jersey.
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