Alabama Game Week Scouting Report: Ole Miss wide receiver Jonathan Mingo

When it came to Jonathan Mingo, the word regarding the Ole Miss wide receiver over the past couple of years was the production didn't match the talent.

That might be changing. During the Rebels' last game he had a career high 136 receiving yards on six catches against Tulane.

“Fixing my mental aspect, not trying to think as much when I play," he told Ole Miss reporters earlier this week.

The two-starter is a little bigger than Dontario Drummond, who leads the Rebels with 20 catches for 339 yards and four touchdowns. But he's second with 15 catches for 290 yards and three scores.

Averaging just under 100 yards per game, Mingo is third in the SEC and 21st nationally in receiving yards per game, and fifth and 30th, respectively, in receiving touchdowns.

“Just going out there and playing in the moment, not trying to put too much pressure on myself. Go out there and have fun, makes plays and play with confidence."

Jonathan Mingo

Jersey: No. 1
Position: Wide receiver
Height: 6-2
Weight: 215
DOB: 4/20/01
Draft eligible: 2022
Hometown: Brandon, Mississippi
High School: Brandon

Pros

Outside wide receiver with impressive size. Mingo possesses good speed and acceleration at that size, eating up cushions and getting on top of cornerbacks. He has strong hands to hang on to the ball through traffic and can track it over his shoulder. Using his hands proactively, he prevents defenders from landing their hands on him. Mingo has average hip sink and ankle flexion to get into breaks and perform speed cuts. He can jab one way and go the other to gain a step of separation. After the catch he is physical, lowering his shoulder to break the occasional tackle. His physicality translates to blocking.

Cons

Mingo is not a dynamic route runner, struggling to slow his momentum and turning on curls. He fails to improvise, not making himself available when the defense is all over him on run-pass options. When extending to catch passes outside of his frame, he can suffer from drops. Mingo is not a consistent blocker, often failing to sustain. He has not shown that he can win at the catch point consistently despite his size.

Summary

Big wideout with straight-line athleticism and solid hands. Mingo is able to create separation occasionally and has the physicality to block. He is not dominant at anything, just checking a number of boxes. Mingo projects as an outside receiver who can be the third or fourth options of a passing attack with his size. He should also be an above-average gunner given his athleticism and physicality.

Grades

7.2 (current value/7.9 potential value)

BamaCentral Analysis

Crimson Tide fans probably best remember Mingo for his career touchdown reception in 2019, when he had then a career-best 74-yard game. However, there haven't been enough repeat performances since then. For example, even though the Rebels hung 48 points on Alabama last year he only had one reception of 11 yards. For the season, Mingo finished with 27 receptions for 379 yards and three touchdowns and that was after having a career-best eight receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns during the overtime win against Kentucky. Alabama has good size at cornerback, so the guess here is that Lane Kiffin will key the game plan elsewhere.

BamaCentral will profile numerous Ole Miss players this week the Crimson Tide prepares to host the Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Also check out NFL Draft Bible for more evaluations.

Chance Campbell/MoMo Sanogo