Adonai Mitchell was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the 52nd pick of Round 2 according to Ian Rapoport.
Fantasy Football Impact
The Indianapolis Colts finally stepped in and stopped Adonai Mitchell's slide down the draft board in the second round. Mitchell's presence on the Colts will most likely make him the favorite to start in two wide sets opposite of Michael Pittman Jr and give Anthony Richardson another fantastic weapon to throw to. Mitchell now finds himself with a fantastic organization in Indianapolis with Head Coach Shane Steichen and may prove to have an illustrious career.
Mitchell may have been the most polarizing wide receiver prospect entering this year's draft. His film shows a player who has the upside to become an unstoppable force in the NFL. However, his production metrics tell a completely different story.
Mitchell never surpassed 1000 receiving yards during his three-year collegiate career. A standard benchmark that indicates future NFL success. He spent 2021 and 2022 at Georgia, playing alongside future NFL-caliber talent such as Brock Bowers, George Pickens, and Ladd McConkey. In 2022, Mitchell missed nine games due to a high ankle sprain.
Hoping for a fresh start, Mitchell transferred to Texas in 2023. While he had his most productive year, there was still a lot of meat left on the bone due to poor quarterback play by Quinn Ewers. Mitchell is highly athletic, with a nose for the endzone. At Texas, Mitchell accounted for 44 percent of their receiving touchdowns.
He should be expected to begin his career as a fantasy WR2, but his talent and upside could vault him to WR1 soon in his career. This is an aggressive view and I stand by it. That said, it's an ideal opportunity to leverage Mitchell's WR69 Average Draft position (ADP) on BestBall 10s. It's reasonable to believe that ADP will rise, but even if it does, it's unlikely to reach the level of my expectations for Mitchell.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
Anthony Richardson's stock rises considerably now that he has Mitchell to throw to. Especially if Mitchell brings the touchdown prowess he displayed at Texas.
Among wide receivers, Pittman finished ninth in total targets from weeks 1 through 17 in 2023. That should take a considerable hit with Mitchell in town. Pittman is still a WR2 for fantasy purposes, but his week-to-week consistency becomes a bit shakier.
Josh Downs will remain the starting slot wide receiver, but Mitchell's presence will undoubtedly do more damage to Downs' production than if Pierce had remained the starter. Downs should confidently now be viewed as a WR3.
Alec Pierce becomes irrelevant mainly in dynasty leagues and utterly irrelevant in seasonal leagues.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
Overview
Adonai Mitchell now finds himself on a superb offense coupled with a quarterback with a big arm. He is currently a massive discount and is being drafted well outside of the top 24 wide receivers
