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New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The New York Jets upgraded the wide receiver room this offseason.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz says that is bad news for pass catcher Adonai Mitchell.
“The Jets have a star pass catcher in Garrett Wilson and brought in first-round pick Omar Cooper Jr., but right now, the third starting wideout is set to be Adonai Mitchell,” Schatz stated.
“The Jets brought him over from the Colts in a trade last year, and while he has a ton of talent, he hasn’t developed in the NFL. Mitchell had just 33 catches for 453 yards and two touchdowns last season in eight games for the Colts and Jets. Behind the starters, the Jets have 2025 fourth-round pick Arian Smith, return specialist Isaiah Williams, and a bunch of past UDFAs with little NFL experience,” Schatz wrote.
Risky Business
If the season started today, the three starting wide receivers would be Wilson, Cooper, and Mitchell.
Mitchell, 23, will turn 24 during the 2026 season. He has two years remaining on his $7.3 million rookie contract.
The former Georgia and Texas product entered the league as the No. 52 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.
After an underwhelming season and a half with Indianapolis, he was traded to the Jets in the blockbuster deal for Sauce Gardner. He played half a year for the Colts and the rest of the season with the Jets in 2025.
All in all, through two years in the league, Mitchell has appeared in 33 games and has made 12 starts. With those opportunities, Mitchell has hauled in 56 receptions on 129 targets. He racked up 765 receiving yards and has scored two touchdowns.
Schatz has every right to be skeptical, and so do the Jets if they feel that way. Mitchell hasn’t lived up to the billing at the NFL level yet.
However, there are a few points that should be noted. Mitchell joined a team in the middle of the season. He had to learn the playbook on the fly and develop chemistry with multiple quarterbacks.
Also, last season, Mitchell didn’t play a single snap with Garrett Wilson. The former Ohio State product and the straw that stirs the drink for the Jets missed the first 10 games of his career. What would Mitchell look like opposite Wilson? The Jets are hoping to find that out in 2026.
Can the Jets Still Improve the Room?
The context of the Schatz blurb was from an ESPN article revealing the “biggest roster holes” for every team in the NFL following the draft.
Schatz pointed out the wide receiver position.
The only problem is that the hay is already in the barn for the most part. The opportunities to drastically improve the roster have passed by, with the majority of free agency and the NFL draft over.
However, there are still some names available, but the real question is, what are the Jets looking for?
A veteran big name that can produce? Or a young player with upside that can develop? The answer to that question changes the available choices.
With the Jets coming off a 3-14 campaign, it doesn’t seem to make sense to add a big-name veteran. The better option is to get some serious development going with the younger players on the roster.
The Jets are betting on the upside of Mitchell. It’s a worthwhile gamble. If he pans out, you have another talented pass catcher in the room. If it doesn’t pan out, he was essentially a throw-in to a much larger trade that involved Gardner.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
