Getty
New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The news only continues to get better.
The ESPN NFL Nation reporters were each asked who the biggest surprise player is on every team. ESPN’s Rich Cimini chose wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for the New York Jets.
“The Jets figured Mitchell would take a leap this offseason — his first with the team — but he exceeded their expectations. Mitchell, acquired from the Colts last November in the Sauce Gardner trade, solidified himself as the No. 2 receiver. He displayed a firm grasp of the new system, allowing him to flash his vertical speed. His chemistry with quarterback Geno Smith was quickly apparent. Mitchell should be a nice complement to Garrett Wilson,” Cimini wrote.
Not the Only One…
Cimini isn’t the only beat reporter who has shared that observation.
All of the beat reporters for The Athletic were asked what they learned from each NFL team this offseason. Insider Zack Rosenblatt also had Mitchell at the top of his list.
“Adonai Mitchell and Geno Smith have budding chemistry — and Mitchell looks like he could be on the verge of living up to his potential. Things went awry for Mitchell in Indianapolis as he got buried on the depth chart, especially after his viral mistake of letting go of the ball just before scoring a touchdown. But coming to the Jets appears to have refreshed him and a full offseason understanding that he’s going to be a starter appears to have energized him,” Rosenblatt said.
“He and Smith are an ideal pairing too — Mitchell a deep threat and impressive route runner adept at getting open and winning 50/50 balls, Smith willing to take shots and try to fit passes into tight windows. They’ve had a number of impressive connections, including a touchdown during minicamp where Smith fired a pass to the back of the end zone and Mitchell leapt, caught it and landed both his feet inbounds,” Rosenblatt added.
An Amazing Development…
Mitchell, 23, will turn 24 during the 2026 season.
From outside observers, Mitchell was described as a piece that was just thrown in the Gardner trade. However, people within the Jets building maintain that wasn’t the case.
“He’s here for a reason,” head coach Aaron Glenn said last season via Randy Lange. “He was never a throw-in. He was a guy we wanted. We watched him coming out of college. He’s actually from my hometown, went to high school with my daughter. I’ve known about him for a while. He’s a true ‘X’ body type, he has good speed, he can win 1-on-1’s.”
While that may all be true, the key to that trade was the draft choices. The Jets were willing to trade away one of the top corners in football because that gave them a chance to find their long-term quarterback. It wasn’t a guarantee, but it gave them a fighting chance.
If Mitchell turns into anything, that is the cherry on top of the pie. By the sounds of it, he will be much more than just something. That will also help lessen the expectations for rookie Omar Cooper Jr. Typically, there are massive expectations on a first-round pick.
However, in this particular scenario, Cooper was the third of three first-round picks. Now he is set to be a WR3 instead of the Robin to Garrett Wilson’s Batman.
Beat reporter Nick Faria of Jets on SI called wide receiver Isaiah Williams a huge surprise this offseason this week. This could just be offseason banter, but if it’s true, the Jets have one of the deepest receiver corps that they’ve had in a long time.
Geno Smith will benefit in 2026, but whoever ends up being the long-term QB will also be placed in an extremely favorable situation.
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.
