Adonai Mitchell is putting together a June that demands attention in New York Jets organized team activities (OTAs).
Through the first week of OTAs, the second-year wide receiver has been one of the most consistent playmakers on the field. Though Head Coach Aaron Glenn has been cautious about naming winners during voluntary practices, the volume of catches Mitchell has generated in drills signals real progress.
"He looks good. He looks really good," Glenn said of Mitchell on May 28, echoing the same praise he gave to Garrett Wilson. That pairing matters; Glenn does not hand out parallel compliments lightly.
Mitchell arrived via trade from the Indianapolis Colts this past offseason, a low-cost flier who was a 2024 second-round pick. As a rookie with the Colts in 2025, Mitchell managed just nine catches for 152 yards and no touchdowns--a stat line that might seem underwhelming heading into a prove-it year. However, the tape tells a more nuanced story.
In limited action last season, Mitchell averaged an impressive 16.9 yards per reception. This stands out for a player whose routes were almost exclusively vertical and who played in an Indianapolis offense that cycled through quarterbacks. The problem wasn't efficiency; it was opportunity. He saw just 21 targets across eight games. For context, Garrett Wilson averaged more targets than that over a three-game stretch last year.
The Jets are betting that Mitchell's low target share last year was a function of Indianapolis' offensive struggles rather than his ability. Early returns suggest the bet is paying off.
"His ability to see exactly what's going on and try to make the play calls is very commanding," Glenn said, highlighting Mitchell's intelligence and mental processing on the field. The rookie version sometimes struggled with zone coverage recognizes, but in OTAs, Mitchell is breaking off routes at the correct depths and finding soft spots against the Jets' first-team defense.
Mitchell has a clear path to targets, although competition exists.
Garrett Wilson remains the Jets' undisputed WR1, coming off a 2025 campaign in which he totaled 395 yards and four touchdowns in just seven games before injury sidelined him. Behind him, the Jets have a mix of situational and unproven receivers. Tim Patrick, signed after a 15-catch, 187-yard, three-touchdown season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, provides size and reliability but is turning 33 this year. Isaiah Williams caught 26 passes for 193 yards, while Arian Smith and Quentin Skinner contributed limited production last year.
Mitchell appears to have a clean runway to develop into a WR2 if he sustains his current momentum through mandatory minicamp and training camp.
The quarterback situation also factors in. Geno Smith is projected to start after a 2025 season with the Las Vegas Raiders that included 3,025 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. Smith's aggressive downfield style fits well with a receiver whose primary skill is winning on vertical routes.
Mitchell ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and has the 6-foot-2 frame to outmuscle defensive backs on contested catches. Smith has the arm strength and anticipation required to connect on deep crossing routes and post corners, both of which have been on display during OTAs.
For a coach installing a new offense under Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich, having a wide receiver who can pre-snap diagnose coverage and adjust routes accordingly is a valuable asset. Reich's offense leans on option routes and sight adjustments that demand tight quarterback-receiver synchronization. Mitchell is showing he can handle that complexity.
Analyzing Mitchell's 2025 season further: his 9.8 yards per target ranked 18th among 62 wide receivers with at least 20 targets. His targeted air yards share of 19.2% with Indianapolis indicates the Colts occasionally tried to push the ball downfield to him. However, Mitchell was on the field for only about 47% of offensive snaps in those games, never exceeding 65%, limiting his opportunities. The Jets, by contrast, appear to want him to be a clear number two receiver with upwards of 70% snap usage.
Of course, there are risks in this projection. Nine receptions is a small sample size to predict future success. Mitchell's college and rookie route tree was limited mostly to go routes, hitches, and shallow crosses. Reich's offense expects him to run more diverse routes and line up in multiple positions. Also, his effectiveness against press-man coverage at the line, a concern in college and during Colts training camp, remains to be fully tested.
Still, the foundational elements are present: speed, size, mental acuity, a quarterback who trusts him, and a coaching staff openly praising him three months before the regular season's start.
OtAs have revealed a potential emerging Jets' wide receiver star who now must translate that promise into consistent regular-season production. Training camp will be the true test, when pads go on and contested catch ability starts to factor heavily. If he passes that milestone, the Jets will have found a legitimate WR2 complement to Garrett Wilson without using premium draft capital or compromising salary cap flexibility.
Coach Glenn summed it up in June with simple confidence: "We think he's a guy that can come and compete and play for us."
The evidence from immediate offseason work suggests that competition for the WR2 spot may soon be over in favor of Adonai Mitchell.