The Colts once looked set up nicely at receiver. Michael Pittman Jr. gave them a reliable possession target, Alec Pierce stretched the field, Josh Downs worked the slot, and Adonai Mitchell looked like the fourth piece with enough talent to grow into something bigger.
That picture has fallen apart fast. Pittman and Mitchell are gone, Pierce is hurt, and Downs is the only obvious holdover from that 2025 group. Two weeks into the season, Shane Steichen was even leaning on Laquon Treadwell, a veteran who has caught just seven passes in the last four years, to play a significant role in the passing game.
That’s the backdrop for the obvious question: did the Colts make a mistake in giving away Adonai Mitchell?
Right now, Mitchell is starting to look like a player who just needed the right runway. In New York, he’s putting together the kind of growth Indianapolis hoped to see after taking him in the second round of the 2024 draft. It also leaves the Colts with another uncomfortable question about why they couldn’t turn that raw talent into a dependable weapon.
The break between player and team felt complete after Mitchell’s costly mistake against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4 of the 2025 season. Early in the third quarter, with the Colts 3-0 and trailing 13-10, Daniel Jones found Mitchell deep down the left sideline. Mitchell made the catch, broke free and looked headed for a touchdown, only to drop the ball before he crossed the goal line and turn it into a fumble.
It was the sort of moment that erased the progress the Colts thought they had made. Indianapolis lost a tight game late, and later in the fourth quarter Mitchell’s holding penalty wiped out a Jonathan Taylor 53-yard touchdown run that could have changed the outcome. Plays like that had become part of his reputation, and he spent most of the rest of the season on the bench.
By the time he was included as a throw-in in the deal that brought Sauce Gardner to town, Mitchell no longer felt like a major part of the Colts’ plans. Ballard’s attention was on the trade itself, especially after giving up two first-round picks for Gardner.
Still, what Mitchell is doing with the Jets makes the Colts’ decision look worse in hindsight. In ten games with New York, he has 33 catches on 73 targets, and 19 of those receptions have moved the chains.
Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they are better than what he produced in 25 games with Indianapolis. He has matched his Colts touchdown total and piled up almost as many yards in less than half the games.
That’s the sort of progress Indianapolis was supposed to get under Steichen. Instead, the Colts are watching it happen somewhere else.
Mitchell is not a finished product. His catch rate still doesn’t match his yards per catch or his average depth of target.
But the signs of development are there. In Week 2 against Green Bay, he drew two major penalties on Packers defensive backs, blocked effectively in the run game and picked up four first downs.
For the Colts, that only sharpens the regret. They once had a receiver with real upside. Now they’re left wondering why they couldn’t bring him along before letting him get away.
In Other News...
Colts Suddenly Needed Receiver Help And Moved Fast
Alec Pierces heel injury left the Colts with an immediate hole on the outside, and they did not wait long to address it. Indianapolis is signing veteran receiver Darius Slayton, a move that gives the offense a proven downfield target while Pierce is expected to miss several weeks.
Slayton comes to Indianapolis after seven seasons with the Giants, and he arrives with a built-in familiarity with quarterback Daniel Jones from their time together in New York. For a Colts team trying to keep its passing game steady through an injury stretch, the fit makes sense, even if the bigger question now is how quickly Slayton can settle in and help replace what Pierce was providing. [Read more 🡒]
Taylor Swift Reacts To The Colts Call Fans Still Hate
The overtime finish between the Colts and Chiefs had the kind of replay drama that lingers long after the final whistle, and it centered on a call Indianapolis fans still havent forgiven. A catch-and-fumble ruling was overturned after review, giving the Colts a life-saving break and helping set up the kind of extra-session swing that can change how an entire game is remembered.
Taylor Swift was in the building for the game, and cameras caught her reacting strongly when the ruling changed. Even with the Colts getting that opening, Kansas City still pulled out the win on Harrison Butkers game-winning field goal, leaving Indianapolis with another painful reminder of how quickly one review can reshape everything. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Fans Had Every Reason To Be Furious After That OT Reversal
Late in a wild overtime loss in Kansas City, the Colts briefly thought they had forced the kind of turnover that ends a road trip with a win and a lot of noise back home. Instead, replay stepped in and turned Laquon Treadwells apparent game-ending fumble into a completed catch and a down-by-contact ruling, leaving Indianapolis to absorb a 33-30 defeat in a game that had already swung enough times to test everybodys nerves.
Patrick Mahomes hardly needed extra help to carry the Chiefs, but he still got the final break when the call was reversed, and he said he was relieved it went that way with social media waiting to pounce. He closed with 382 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, and Kansas City walked away 2-0 while the Colts were left with another frustrating reminder of how thin the margin can be in prime moments. [Read more 🡒]