The Indianapolis Colts have some good things going for them. The team appears to have found a potentially long-term quarterback in the person of Daniel Jones, assuming he keeps playing at his current level and that the team wants to pay him next offseason. The defense is playing efficiently, too.
One aspect of the offense that is helping Jones quite a bit is how deep the wide receiver group is. Maybe there are no superstars, but the group runs about five deep as far as quality. Many thought that before the season, the group was six deep. This assumption was very wrong.
The issue is that the sixth member should be much better, but that might never happen. Adonai Mitchell was a second-round choice in 2024 and has been a complete failure so far. In fact, the Colts could be 5-0 this year if not for two critical errors by Mitchell in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Indianapolis Colts have made their position on Adonai Mitchell extremely clear
Indy fans know the mistakes well. Mitchell missed a sure touchdown when he dropped the ball inches before the end zone, when he appeared to be ready to celebrate scoring before he had actually scored.
The other error came when running back Jonathan Taylor was busy running the ball for a 53-yard touchdown, only to have it called back on an awful holding penalty by Mitchell. The play was exactly what not to do when trying to block a defender. The receiver basically pulled the defender down.
After the game, AD Mitchell felt terrible about what happened, of course, and the coaches and his teammates said all the right things about not making Mitchell the complete scapegoat when he obviously was. The team's actions spoke much louder than words, however.
Even with Alec Pierce out again in Week 5 because of a concussion, the Indianapolis Colts did not give Adonai Mitchell the same chances. Instead, Ashton Dulin took most of Mitchell's reps, and it paid off beautifully for Indy. Dulin caught two passes for 55 yards and had a good kickoff return.
Was Dulin a Pro Bowler? No, but he was a lot more reliable than Mitchell, who only received six reps total and was targeted just once in the passing game. That pass was incomplete.
What's next for Adonai Mitchell and the Indianapolis Colts is unknown. If he had been a fifth-round pick, then his lack of productivity through a full season and five games wouldn't be such a big deal. But he was a second-rounder, and the Indianapolis Colts need more from him eventually.