WESTFIELD, Ind. – Before Colts training camp began, Michael Pittman Jr. made sure rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell knew it was going to be a long, grueling process. But Pittman also told him to get used to it, because he'd be doing it for a very long time.
Now in his fifth year with the Colts, Pittman would know.
The veteran wide receiver quickly became a mentor to Mitchell during the offseason, even if he might not have originally planned to. Mitchell, while sitting at home in Texas a few weeks before training camp, decided on a whim to call up Pittman to see what he was up to. Upon learning Pittman was all the way out in California, the second-round draft pick decided to simply show up to where the Colts No. 1 wide receiver was training and get some work in alongside his teammate.
"He's been in the league for six, seven years, and it's my first year, so I'm like whatever he's doing, I need to be doing," Mitchell said after his first NFL training camp practice Thursday. "The way he worked out, the way he ran routes out there, just everything he was doing, I was like, okay, this is the type of work that I want to have in the offseason."
In the week the two spent training together, Mitchell gained invaluable experience as he worked out alongside one of the best blocking receivers in the NFL, who also just so happens to be the most productive receiver on the Colts. There was no one better for Mitchell to learn from, and he knew it.
"He just took me under his wing completely," Mitchell said. "I'm super grateful for that. He definitely didn't have to do that at all."
The rookie is no stranger to high-pressure situations even though he has yet to play in an NFL game; he played in the College Football Playoff in all three years of his college career, winning with Georgia in 2021 and 2022 and participating with Texas in 2023. He totaled 1,405 yards on 93 receptions and 18 touchdowns in college, with a plethora of highlight reel-worthy snags.
Mitchell also isn't afraid do the "dirty work" in getting physical and blocking, and that's exactly what the Colts want in a wide receiver. (Just look at Pittman.)
"It would be selfish of me not to do it," Mitchell said. "Especially because it's 11 people on the field, everybody is counting on everybody to do their job."
With a guy like Pittman mentoring him in how to best do his job, Mitchell has an ideal example to follow – in the literal football sense and in the way he should conduct himself as a player.
"It's different to have a guy just tell you to do something and them not doing it themselves," Mitchell said. "That's the opposite of Pitt. Everything he's telling you to do, he's going out there and doing the next play."
If Pittman tells Mitchell to work harder in the red zone and go for more touchdowns, he will too. If Pittman tells Mitchell to block harder, he will too. There are no empty words from the veteran wide receiver. For a rookie, that kind of leadership is everything.
When asked about what he wanted to see from Mitchell, head coach Shane Steichen kept it simple: he wants to see growth.
"(He's) obviously a very talented receiver," Steichen said.
The way for Mitchell to continue to build on that talent, Steichen said, is simply just being around the team and getting competition with the veterans every day. The development will come as Mitchell continues to learn from, and play with, his peers.
The expectation for the 2024 season is that Mitchell, Pittman and the rest of the wide receivers will have their fair share of blocking responsibilities thanks to Anthony Richardson. The Colts QB1 is known just as much for his ability to move and run as he is for his arm, opening a variety of different play options for the team's offense. The entire team knows it, and they're ready to do everything possible to utilize his talent to the greatest extent.
"It's not just his legs, it's his mind and his arms," Mitchell said. "So he's definitely got the whole package and it's up to us to fully support it."
It all goes back to the idea of everyone being willing and able to do their job, whatever it may look like.
"If I'm not the dude that's doing my job, I'm probably not going to be on that field," Mitchell said.
And he wants to be on the field.
