This gets complicated, but to make matters worse, the outcome isn't yet known and won't be for a while. When former Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard traded for cornerback Sauce Gardner last season, he couldn't have known what a brutal effect it would have. The Adonai Mitchell part was the least of his concerns, it seemed.
The thing is, the answer to nearly everything that is ailing the Colts offense in 2026 is playing for the New York Jets. Mitchell needed a change of scenery, as he was going nowhere in Indy, but was that his fault? Or was it that head coach Shane Steichen couldn't use him correctly?
This season, without injured wide receiver Alec Pierce and terrible quarterback play from Daniel Jones, Indianapolis's offense has played close to the line of scrimmage and with very little ability to be explosive. Just one player's absence -- Pierce's -- has caused all that. What if the team still had Mitchell, though?
Indianapolis Colts are definitely missing wide receiver Adonai Mitchell
After being dealt to New York (nearly immediately after), Mitchell turned into the kind of player that Chris Ballard thought he would be when Indy chose Mitchell in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In other words, Mitchell's failure with the Colts, when he was a healthy scratch often, can't be blamed on Ballard's choice but on Steichen's inability to get the best out of the wideout.
The Jets certainly have. While Indianapolis was in the process of being dismantled by the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-7 in Week 8, AD Mitchell was busy catching seven passes for 142 yards and a touchdown for New York.
He has missed time this season with a finger injury, but in four games (and three starts), he has 265 receiving yards. He is averaging 16.6 yards per reception, the kind of explosive ability that no healthy Indy receiver has.
His receiving yards this season would be third on the Colts, but in half the number of games as team leaders Josh Downs and Keenan Allen. His average yards per catch would easily lead the team. His one touchdown catch would tie for the lead among Indy's wide receivers.
Had Mitchell stayed with Indianapolis, would he be doing as well as he is now? Unlikely, but only because he wasn't working out previously. He's been fine with the Jets. Steichen was the problem in Indianapolis.
Ironically, though, Mitchell is somewhat to blame for the Colts' mess. In Week 4 last season, while still with Indianapolis, he dropped the ball just before scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. Likely, if he had held onto the ball, Indy would have gone on to win the game. Instead, he never recovered from the play and barely got a chance to see the field in the next five games.
After that, he was part of the trade that gave Indianapolis cornerback Sauce Gardner, but it gave the Jets two first-round picks and Mitchell. New York clearly won the trade, and Indianapolis will continue to suffer from not having those draft picks.
But the Colts are also partly suffering because Shane Steichen couldn't make it work with Adonai Mitchell. His growing success will be a part of the frustration that Indianapolis fans feel toward their favorite team.
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