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NFL Draft Film Breakdown: Should Cincinnati Bengals Target Adonai Mitchell in First Round?
The Bengals have the No. 18 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Everyone appears to be focused on the trenches, but there's a realistic chance the Bengals take a wide receiver with the 18th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
They have an immediate need to fill out the third receiver in their 11 personnel sets, while also having a future need at their second wide receiver slot who plays just about every down for the team.
Brian Thomas Jr. is mentioned as a possible target, but there is another contender that hasn't been talked about enough.
Adonai Mitchell is a prospect from the University of Texas by way of the University of Georgia. He was a 3-star recruit from the state of Tennessee and has gone on to have tremendous success in college. He won a national championship with Georgia and then went to Texas where he hauled in 55 catches for 855 yards and 11 touchdowns. He tested like an elite athlete at the NFL Combine. He ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at 6-2, 205 pounds. His stellar performance helped him finish with a 9.99 relative athletic score.
All of that sounds great but how about his play on the field? Is he worth the Bengals' first round pick? Let's take a look at the film:
Where He Excels
Mitchell has the body control that you look for in a prospective Bengals target. He can independently work his upper and lower halves to catch and secure a ball, while contorting his upper body but also gets his feet down in bounds to make sure it’s ruled a catch.
Late hands and the ability to track the ball also stand out with Mitchell. He always seems to know exactly where the ball is going and exactly when he needs to put his hands out to make the catch. His body control and ball tracking downfield help him make great adjustments on poorly thrown balls as well.
Mitchell comes in with good size and great athleticism. He can play the role of a burner at the NFL level, especially when he has room to build up speed. Mitchell covers ground quickly and can find his way behind the defense for explosive plays.
There is some suddenness at the break point and he changes tempo on his routes to win separation against man coverage. Can win on routes at the short, intermediate, and deep areas of the field. His ability to throttle down and change direction are apparent in his game.
He can catch the ball well outside of his frame and hang on through contact with the ground. This works well in conjunction with the rest of his abilities to create a very wide catch radius. He has high end hand eye coordination with strong hands.
There is the foundation for a good release package to his game. He has the movement ability and strength that you look for when finding a guy that can win against press coverage.
Areas of Concern
Mitchell is a really nice wide receiver prospect. He has a lot of the traits that you look for in a guy coming to the NFL and they all mesh well together. He’s got the body control, tracking, and hand eye coordination needed to be a high end guy at the catch point. His size, athleticism, route running, growing release package give him a ceiling that is sought after in the first round of drafts.
There is a prospect in Mitchell that is hard to find after the first day of the draft. His production leaves something to be desired, but that could be explained by the Georgia offense. There was a ton of talent on that team and they were not a heavy pass team in the first place. It’s easy to fall for Mitchell when it comes to seeing how he works out in the NFL.
Despite the size, body control, and hands, Mitchell has not been a high end contested catch guy in college. He comes in at the 43rd percentile in contested catch percentage, which is slightly below average for NFL prospects. This could possibly be improved upon but he needs to be more consistent and stronger at the catch point when battling defenders.
He seems a bit raw when it comes to understanding the spacing on concepts and zone coverage. He doesn't always settle in the soft spot of the zone when running routes over the middle of the field and can be rerouted inside when he is supposed to be releasing to the outside.
Overall Thoughts
Mitchell seems to have a bit of a late surge as a prospect with the most recent betting lines having his over/under at 17.5 for the draft. This surge makes sense.
Mitchell is a really nice wide receiver prospect. He has a lot of the traits that you look for in a guy coming to the NFL and they all mesh well together. He’s got the body control, tracking, and hand eye coordination needed to be a high end guy at the catch point. His size, athleticism, route running, growing release package give him a ceiling that is sought after in the first round of drafts.
A prospect like Mitchell is hard to find after the first day of the draft. His production leaves something to be desired, but that could be explained by the Georgia offense. There was a ton of talent on that team and they were not a heavy pass team in the first place. It’s easy to fall for Mitchell because his game should translate in the NFL.
There is some shiftiness to his game, but he doesn't seem to be a guy that will win all that often when it comes to running after the catch. He doesn’t have the post catch juice that you look for at the collegiate level to become a guy who can consistently churn additional yardage by making defenders miss and staying on his feet.
On the other hand, Mitchell’s spotty effort makes him a divisive prospect. Some coaches will look at the traits and tools and say “I can fix him.” Uou cannot teach what he brings to the table both physically and athletically. Interviews for Mitchell are going to be crucial to his draft stock.
Scheme Fit
Mitchell fits best as an outside wide receiver where he can utilize his high end athleticism to threaten defenses vertically. He could potentially work his way into the slot over time, but he needs more experience to understand some of the finer details of playing wide receiver before he can really be trusted to win there consistently.
Grade
1st Round
NFL Comparison
Javon Walker
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