Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas (Junior)

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Strengths :

  • Size
  • Fluid mover
  • Manipulation of defensive backs
  • Savvy route runner
  • Route tree
  • Ball skills
  • Age

Weaknesses :

  • Speed
  • Skills against press coverage
  • Inconsistent effort
  • Run Block
  • Ability to catch the ball at its highest point
  • Work ethic ?

TTProfil

 

Adonai Mitchell has the ideal physique for a wide receiver. He is tall and lanky with a substantial muscle mass. His athleticism is difficult to evaluate because it depends heavily on his engagement on the field and his motivation. His pure speed appears adequate for his build, but it seems inconsistent as he appears to choose when to run at 100% and when not to, which is easily noticeable on tapes.
His acceleration and explosiveness (except off the line) are quite good, but again, only when he decides to use them. He is very fluid for a receiver of his build; however, it's unfortunate that he doesn't give his all on every repetition where he could be a potential target.

Against press coverage, he really struggles to make an impact when trying to attack vertically. His lack of speed becomes apparent, and he struggles to create separation. He also has difficulty stacking the cornerback. (Stacking is an excellent way to help slower receivers gain the upper hand vertically on the field. Once the receiver has successfully stacked the defender, he controls the situation).
However, he does have a repertoire of releases that are decently executed, even though they lack a bit of explosiveness. This allows him to attack short routes quite effectively and intermediate routes, but with a limitation in separation.
All his toughest matchups came when the opposing defense heavily relied on press coverage.
An important note is that when he's isolated in goal-line situations, he's nearly unbeatable when he puts in the effort. His hip and upper body flexibility really stand out on tape.

In off-man coverage, AD is capable of very good things. It's in this context that he best expresses his qualities because he has time to build up his speed since he's in a free release.
He is very aggressive and has a very good stem. He is capable of elite manipulation of cornerbacks with head and shoulder fakes, as well as feinting an inside break for a double move. His inside and outside breaks are sharp, and he can make quick changes of direction thanks to the fluidity of his hips and upper body.
His ability to be a threat at the first two levels (short and intermediate) is greatly aided by his manipulation skills at the third level (deep), indirectly creating space for himself by putting stress on opposing backfields.

Against zone coverage, we see essentially what I mentioned for off-man coverage, plus the fact that he knows when and where to sit down in his route to provide a viable option for his QB. His off-script improvisation is a bit inconsistent, but the potential is there.
He has a fairly extensive route tree, mastering vertical routes well but also capable of attacking dig routes, slants, or drives. I particularly like his comeback routes when facing off-man coverage.

Adonai has excellent ball skills. Despite lacking arm length for his size, he manages to have a decent catch radius thanks to his ability to catch outside the numbers with a strong grip. However, he struggles to catch the ball at its highest point due to this lack of arm length. He has very good hands, excellent technique, and especially a great ability to track the ball. He makes very good adjustments to throws thanks to his tracking ability, eye-foot-hand coordination, and upper body flexibility.
He doesn't have a good vision as a ball carrier. He really needs to work on that because he tends to dance too much to find the opening, whereas with his physique, I'd like to see much more aggressiveness in going vertical.

Mitchell's run blocking is non-existent on some plays like those against Kansas. He doesn't understand who he should block, doesn't make an effort, he has absolutely nothing, but at most, three times I've seen him make a good run block because (once again) he put in the effort.

Adonai Mitchell is a very intriguing prospect but hard to evaluate. A big part of his flaws comes from something I noticed in some film: he is very relaxed when he's not the target of the play and gives away a lot of pre-snap indications. Sometimes he doesn't seem to know his playbook and looks at the play calls on the sideline to know what he should do, which causes him to miss some plays.
It's possible that this lack of investment, which is reflected on the field, stems from a lack of work in film study and understanding of the playbook. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it happened several times and very noticeably.

That being said, Mitchell remains a young and exciting player due to his route-running abilities and ball skills. I can easily see him as an X receiver and, if possible, put him in a position to have maximum free release.
We'll attribute his shortcomings as a run blocker and inconsistency to his youth and hope that he develops well, but I struggle to see a high ceiling for him.
I evaluate Adonai Mitchell as a day 2 talent.

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