Professionalism was rumored to be the reason Mitchell fell out of the first round, and his performance suggested those worries might be true. For all the talent Mitchell possessed when he entered the NFL, he rarely showed it. But as receivers coach and former Colts legend Reggie Wayne said, Mitchell “can be a difference maker.”
He just wasn’t one in 2024. Luckily for Mitchell, it was only his first season.
“It was just a lot of new things,” Mitchell said. “In college, I was a vet. Here, I’m a rookie. A lot of different things I had to learn. Learning how to be a professional. I’ve never been a professional before this year.”
With one season as a pro under his belt and the end of the notoriously long rookie year now behind him, Mitchell can focus on taking what he learned and applying it to his performance in 2025. Hopefully, the quarterback situation will be more helpful to him, but regardless of who is throwing passes, Mitchell expects he’ll start to live up to those expectations in his sophomore campaign.
“The second year,” Mitchell said, “will be a whole lot better.”