Dallas City News

We continue our 2024 NFL Draft review of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (Texas).

Adonai Mitchell
WR
Texas Longhorns
Junior
3-star recruit
6’2”
205 lbs
Hands- 9”
Arm Length- 32 3/8”
Wingspan- 77 5/8”

History:
Adonai Mitchell received 20 offers out of high school and enrolled with Georgia in 2021. In his freshman year, Mitchell played in all 15 games for Georgia, starting in a dozen. He showed huge potential and was targeted 52 times. He made 29 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns. It was a solid start from the freshman receiver.

In 2022, Mitchell played in six games. He missed a large portion of the year due to an ankle injury but returned for the playoffs including the National Championship where he scored a touchdown to secure victory for Georgia. He ended the season with nine receptions for 134 yards and three touchdowns. At the end of the year Mitchell would enter the transfer portal and moved to Texas. The reason for the move was for family reasons and to be closer to his daughter.

In his first year with Texas, Mitchell was predictably impactful. The Texas offense was already high-powered and a perfect fit for Mitchell. He had career highs with 55 receptions, 845 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

NFL Combine/Pro Day:
10-Yard Split- 1.52s (76%)
40-Yard Time- 4.34s (94%)
Vert- 39.5” (89%)
Broad- 136”(98%)

Awards:
Second-team All-Big 12 (2023)

Scorecard:
Overall- 89.7
Catching- 92
Route Running- 79
Deep Threat- 97
YAC Skills- 40
Blocking- 75
Speed- 93
Strength-79
Acceleration- 86
Agility- 93

THE GOOD:

• Elite speed and flexibility
• Tall and rangy with solid body control and shows good play strength
• Has all the deep routes perfected. Very polished deep route runner and accelerates smoothly
• Good ball tracking
• Shows good agility on releases and very efficient footwork to stab or stack defenders in press coverage
• Long strider that chews up space or cushion quickly

THE BAD:

• Not a big yards after catch guy. More inconsistent as opposed to him having an inability to stretch plays. Could perhaps be a confidence issue.
• Struggles to win in traffic at times
• Not a consistent winner of the ball when contesting jump-balls
• Can have a lot of wasted movement at route stems
• Blocking needs coaching. He’s willing but needs technique

THE FIT:

Adonai Mitchell makes for a perfect X-type possession receiver in the NFL. He has size, length, speed and agility. But he also has a well refined deep route tree. He has shown plenty of times on tape that he is able to catch the ball away from his body, and his body control helps to contort himself into favorable positions to win the ball. This gives him a good foundation to begin his career in the NFL.

He is in need of coaching in key areas. His route tree is not elaborate. It’s not a hindrance, but if he could have added a little more nuance to his tree he could have seen his name higher in receiver rankings. For a guy with his athleticism, he lacks yards after the catch skills. He either runs himself into a corner or toward defenders, allowing the opposition to get easy angles on him. He also lacks contact balance as a ball carrier. Another major issue is when it comes to winning the ball when high pointing while under duress. Due to his slender frame and lack of strength, he’s often knocked out of position or unable to recover in the air.

Mitchell is easily a top-50 player in this year’s draft but slightly out the top-30 range to make him a first-round player. It’s very possible a team could fall in love with him and draft him the first round, he’s that type of prospect. For best value though he should be viewed as an early Day 2 talent.

Adonai Mitchell had a formal interview with Dallas during the combine.

COMPARISON:-
Donte Moncrief, Indianapolis Colts

GRADE:
Early second-round grade

CONSENSUS RANKING:
32nd
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services)