When Adonai Mitchell thinks about his rookie year in the NFL, the first word that comes to his mind is adversity.
It was a feeling that was somewhat new to the young wide receiver; he was a highly touted player in college, playing for Georgia and Texas and recording 93 receptions for 1,405 yards and 18 touchdowns across 35 games. Mitchell was a natural athlete, and a very impressive one at that. So, of course, when he was selected by the Colts in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, he had high expectations for himself.
But as he reflected on his rookie season, Mitchell was faced with the fact that he didn't meet his standard of being the best possible version of himself. In 17 games, Mitchell had 23 receptions on 51 targets for 312 yards and no touchdowns. He showed off his athleticism by getting open time and time again but struggled to consistently make catches, finishing the season with a 45.1 percent catch rate.
When Mitchell was drafted, the expectation was that he would immediately be a high-level competitor in a way that would propel the entire Colts wide receiver room to new heights. During training camp, that's exactly what happened. Mitchell and Alec Pierce traded off highlight-reel plays on a daily basis as the two competed for a starting role, impressing both head coach Shane Steichen and wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne.
But as the season went on, Pierce – in his third year in the league – thrived while Mitchell faced the ups and downs that come with being a rookie in the NFL.
"It was just a lot of new things," Mitchell said. "In college, I was a vet and here, I'm a rookie. So a lot of different things I've learned, just learning how to be a professional. I've never been a professional before this, this is my first year."
For Mitchell, part of learning how to be a professional football player was navigating the highs and lows of every week.
"He's just learning, too," wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. "It's real tough cause in the offense this year, there were sometimes those feast or famine (games), sometimes we were passing the ball, sometimes it's hey, we're going to run the ball 10 straight times, and we may pass it maybe 11, 12 times that game. So just being able to deal with that emotionally is probably the thing that is going to help him reach his next level."
As Mitchell's rookie struggles continued, his playing time and targets fluctuated week by week and declined as the season went on.
"Like any young player, there's going to be a maturation process with him," general manager Chris Ballard said in his end-of-season press conference. "And he has some definitely, really strong moments, but we need more consistent moments from him."
The strongest game of Mitchell's rookie season came in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, when the receiver had a career-high six receptions on six targets for 71 yards. He played 60 of the Colts' 64 offensive snaps, as Pittman missed the game with a back injury, and fit in seamlessly with the team's offense.
"He did a good job," 17-year veteran quarterback Joe Flacco said after the game. "He looked comfortable out there, caught the ball well, did a lot of good things."
That game was the culmination of the hard work Mitchell had been putting in since the moment he was drafted, proving he was still the talented wide receiver the Colts believed he was. By that point, though, it was clear it was going to take time to see that version of Mitchell on a regular basis.
But no one around him lost faith in his ability to grow into that player, and they didn't let Mitchell lose any confidence in himself either.
"This being the longest year of his life, I bet he's feeling a lot of pressure from going from being the star at Texas to being in the NFL," Pittman said. "Things just didn't perhaps go his way, but I will say one thing about him: he is one of the most talented guys that I've ever been close to, and I think that he's going to figure it out. And when he does, people are going to be like, 'He's the best receiver that I've ever seen.'"
No one was more vocal in his support for Mitchell throughout the 2024 season than Wayne, who dealt with his own rookie struggles a little over two decades ago. A first-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, Wayne played in 13 games his rookie season for the Colts (an injury sidelined him for three games) and recorded 27 receptions on 49 targets for 345 yards and no touchdowns. The next year, Wayne had 49 receptions for 716 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers only kept improving over the course of Wayne's 14-year NFL career, to the point where he's a six-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist and one of the best wide receivers in Colts history.
"Remember, I was a bust at one point in time because I dropped a couple passes in my first few practices," Wayne said in October. "I was there before, like, let him play. Let him play."
Now, that's not meant to compare Mitchell to Wayne – it's far too early in Mitchell's career for that. Instead, it's meant simply to show two things: Wayne has firsthand experience in dealing with negativity and criticism for not meeting expectations, and not every star wide receiver succeeds in his first few years in the NFL.
Just ask Pierce, a second-round pick who went from a rookie struggling to find his role on the team to leading the NFL in yards per reception in his third season.
You could argue there's no better wide receiver room for Mitchell to be a part of, from the examples around him to the competition they provide. Because there is competition, and it's up to Mitchell to rise to the occasion and earn his spot. He knows it, and with the perspective gained from his rookie year, he's ready for it.
"It could've went different in a lot of different occasions, but it just goes to show how life is, how unfair it is sometimes," Mitchell said. "At the end of the day, it's all gonna be on me. It always has been, it always will be."
