The Jets may finally have the kind of offense that gives a young receiver room to breathe, and Geno Smith sounds convinced Adonai Mitchell is ready to take advantage of it.
Smith, now set to guide New York’s attack, had strong words for the third-year wideout in an interview with NFL insider Jordan Schultz. His message was simple: Mitchell has the traits, the work ethic, and the ceiling to turn into something special.
“Sky's the limit for AD, man. He's got all the physical tools.
He works extremely hard. You know, he's always on the jugs...
He has everything, all the ability to go out there and be one of the better receivers in the game. I really, I really think he can be that.
Obviously, it's my job to make sure I put the ball in his hands and let him go do his thing. But, you know, we're still a work in progress, and I think he's such a young player.
It's too early to write him off, man. He's too young and too talented to be written off.”
That kind of confidence matters, especially for a player who didn’t get the start to his career he wanted with the Indianapolis Colts. Mitchell is now in his third year and, after a full offseason with his new team, looks positioned for a bigger role in Frank Reich’s new-look offense.
He’s not the only piece there, either. Garrett Wilson remains the top name in the receiver room, but the Jets also have Omar Cooper Jr., Kenyon Sadiq, Mason Taylor, and Breece Hall in the mix, giving Smith a group of playmakers to work with.
Smith’s belief in Mitchell also comes with a little personal history behind it. He knows what it looks like to be dismissed early, having gone through that himself before rebuilding his career with the Seattle Seahawks. The quarterback once summed that up with his well-known line: "They wrote me off; I ain't write back though."
For Mitchell, the opportunity is there now. And with a quarterback openly backing him, the path to becoming a real piece of this offense is wide open.
In Other News...
Jets Backup Quarterback Debate Just Got A Lot More Uncomfortable
The Jets quarterback room has taken on an oddly delicate feel after the team decided to carry only two passers on its active roster, leaving Cade Klubnik as the backup behind the starter while Bailey Zappe sits on the practice squad. Klubniks preseason didnt exactly settle the matter, and that has made his place on the depth chart feel less like a firm judgment and more like a roster call the team had to make.
Around the league, Klubnik is one of three rookie quarterbacks serving in backup roles, but the bigger question for the Jets is whether he actually won the job or simply ended up there because of how the roster broke. With the regular season approaching, that uncertainty hangs over a position where the margin for comfort is usually thin and every decision gets scrutinized a little harder. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Defense Suddenly Faces A Bigger Week 1 Concern Than Expected
Jarvis Brownlee Jr. may be front and center for the Jets sooner than expected in Week 1, with uncertainty surrounding DAngelo Ponds availability leaving New Yorks slot corner spot in a more fragile place than the matchup plan probably anticipated. Brownlee, acquired from the Titans during the previous season, is the next man up if the Jets need help inside, and that alone adds an extra layer to a game that already carried some early-season intrigue.
The assignment could be a tricky one, too, because Brownlee may end up across from Titans slot receiver WanDale Robinson, who led the league in slot receiving yards last season. Brownlees numbers have been mixed, and the Jets do not have much proven depth waiting behind him, so this is the kind of early test that can quickly ripple through a defense if the coverage structure does not hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Mason Taylor Is Giving The Jets A Tough Week 1 Decision
Mason Taylor has spent training camp doing exactly what the Jets needed from a young tight end: making himself hard to ignore. He caught 17 passes from Geno Smith in team drills, more than any other Jets tight end, and his workload has reflected both his receiving ability and the coaching staffs confidence in his blocking.
His rise has also been helped by Kenyon Sadiq working back from a hernia recovery, which opened more opportunities for Taylor to climb the depth chart. The question now is how much of that camp momentum carries into the regular season, especially with other offensive weapons around Smith and a week-one plan that still has plenty of moving parts. [Read more 🡒]