Adonai “AD” Mitchell transferred to Texas hoping to vault his 2024 NFL Draft stock, and that’s exactly what he did in 2023. Looking back at the 2023 season, does Mitchell now have the composite scouting report to secure early-round capital?
Adonai ‘AD’ Mitchell Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’2 1/4″
- Weight: 205 pounds
- Length: 32 3/8″
- Wingspan: 77 5/8″
- Hand: 9″
- Position: Wide Receiver
- School: Texas
- Current Year: Junior
Mitchell joined the Georgia Bulldogs as a mere three-star recruit ahead of their two-year championship reign. But he was always a player who flashed promise with limited opportunities.
As a true freshman in 2021, Mitchell found the field on an uber-talented roster and put up 29 catches for 426 yards and four scores. In 2022, he caught a touchdown on one-third of his catches before a high ankle sprain forced him off the field.
Mitchell sought higher volume through the transfer portal in 2023 and joined the Texas Longhorns as a five-star transfer recruit. Mitchell made an instant impact by installing himself in an offense that included Quinn Ewers, Xavier Worthy, and Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Though Ewers’ and Mitchell’s chemistry didn’t always appear on point through the 14-game season, Mitchell managed to distinguish himself as a big-play threat, with 845 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 55 catches.
Now, as a true junior, Mitchell is already amassing fans as a potential first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. His NFL Combine showing only accelerated his forward momentum.
At the Combine, Mitchell ran a 4.34 40-yard dash with a blistering 1.48 10-yard split at around 6’2″, 205 pounds. He also logged an 11’4″ broad jump and a 39.5″ vertical. All told, Mitchell earned a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.99 — good for the fifth-best RAS figure of all-time out of over 3,000 wide receivers with available data.
Mitchell’s testing is some of the best we’ve ever seen at the WR position, and that’s not hyperbole. Some of his peak flashes on tape are enthralling. Is Mitchell just a flash in the pan, or is he the real deal? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Mitchell’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Long and lean receiver with streamlined athleticism and wiry play strength.
- Explosive long-strider with the burst and speed to stack defenders out of stems.
- Has the brisk lateral twitch and foot speed to offset DBs with meticulous releases.
- Incredibly flexible mover at his size, who can pinch exceedingly tight angles at stems.
- Possesses the flexibility necessary to employ curvilinear acceleration on rounded breaks.
- Can suddenly chop his feet and hinge outward on a dime after breaking inside on slants.
- Able to bait defensive backs into poor positioning with violent jab-steps, capitalizing with footwork.
- Uses his length with precision to compound and create late-snap separation.
- Nuanced throttle modulator who can separate on multi-layered routes with crisp tempo.
- Mix of vertical-pressing speed, bend, efficient footwork, and head fakes can blend DBs.
- Has incredible body control, coordination, and ball-tracking ability working the boundary.
- Controls the catch point with targeted physicality, late hands, and precise timing.
- Shows glimpses of uncommon hand-eye coordination, gathering high-difficulty throws.
- Reliable hands catcher who corrals passes away from his frame with diamond technique.
- Flashes high-level play strength and tenacity as a run blocker and understands leverage.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t always play to his elite quantified 4.34 pace on the vertical plane.
- Can improve at weaponizing his agility, twitch, and flexibility as a RAC threat.
- Occasionally misjudges the pace and trajectory of passes in the deep third.
- Effort sometimes wanes late in reps when tracking deep balls against physical coverage.
- Occasionally has wasted motion as a route runner, with extra, inefficient steps at stems.
- On occasion, widens his hips too much and locks himself out laterally attempting to offset.
- Naturally, with his taller frame, sometimes plays too upright into stems.
- Overarching consistency with route-running execution and effort can still improve.
- Isn’t often used on motions or in the slot, and is primarily a boundary threat.
- Contact balance after the catch is only average.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Mitchell grades out as a top-25 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft on my board and a top-five WR prospect in a stacked positional class. For teams needing an X-receiver with rare 1-on-1 separation skills, Mitchell is worth mid-to-late Round 1 consideration. But he won’t be for every team.
It’s ultimately up to what each team needs and how they intend to use their WR targets to decipher whether or not Mitchell is a fit. There’s also the question of inconsistent effort and how teams feel about his ability to maximize his output on a down-to-down basis.
Mitchell isn’t as variable as most receiver prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft, nor is he as much of a threat after the catch. But he has an elite athletic profile, and as an X-receiver, does two things at a very high level. Mitchell separates, and he catches the football.
At just 21 years old, Mitchell is already a surgical route runner with size-defying flexibility, bend, footwork efficiency, and hinge fluidity. And he packs in his explosiveness, forward-pressing speed, agility, and twitch, physicality, and nuance to further confound defenders in 1-on-1 situations.
Mitchell has a full route tree, a full route-running framework, and the athleticism to threaten vertically and create extra space. Meanwhile, at the catch point, he has some of the surest, most coordinated hands in the class and is exceptional at contorting his body and timing his extensions.
With a long 6’2 1/4″ frame, Mitchell is exceptional across the board, from explosiveness and speed to route running, instincts, and physicality. If he can continue to cut down on occasional inefficiencies and lulls in late-snap effort, the sky is the limit.
MORE: Top Wide Receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft
Ultimately, Mitchell has the tools and unique separation ability to grow into an impact starter at the X-receiver spot, with projected versatility gleaned from his athleticism, and his high-end blocking ability will be an added boon for an NFL team.
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