Colts rookie ready to build off career day against Bills
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — While the Indianapolis Colts try to fix what went wrong in Sunday’s 30-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills, one player will try to build off his success. Rookie wide receiver AD Mitchell went from playing just nine percent of snaps to 94 — as he filled in for injured Michael Pittman Jr.
Mitchell took full advantage of the extra time on the field.
“It definitely felt good to be able to convert when the opportunities came,” Mitchell said after a career-high 71 yards.
He caught all six targets from quarterback Joe Flacco — another career-best.
“He did a really nice job,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “Obviously, he made some really nice catches there. He was on point — good routes, made big time catches.”
“He did a good job,” Flacco added. “He looked comfortable out there, caught the ball well, did a lot of good things. It’s unfortunate that it comes in a game like this where you can’t feel as good about it as you want to but he did a great job.”
Mitchell’s taken a lot of criticism early in his NFL career. Before the Bills game, he hadn’t put the numbers up that Colts fans were hoping after a promising training camp. Analysts even thought he showed some tentativeness when being targeted — saying he was afraid of getting hit and therefore not focusing on catching the ball.
The 22-year-old from Texas weathered through all of that — finally putting together a full game and showing the NFL what he can do.
“It’s all a matter of getting reps, learning through reps, learning through wins, learning through losses,” Mitchell said. “I’d say I grew a lot. Credit to the guys around me and obviously my receiver coach (Reggie Wayne). We all push each other and we all force each other to get better and grow.”
Mitchell might have had a career day, but he’s still looking for that elusive first touchdown in the NFL. His teammate Alec Pierce says it’s only a matter of time with how much progress Mitchell has shown halfway through his rookie season.
“I’ve just been proud of his maturity,” Pierce said. “He’s had a lot of like tough breaks. He’s been getting open, getting separation, just like a lot of things go into a lot of football plays so things just kind of haven’t been falling his way so I’ve been proud of him hanging in there.”
All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor shares the same sentiments.
“You can see it. Every time he releases off the ball you’re like, ‘Oh, did you see that move right there?’” Taylor said. “I’m glad that, of course, he had a career day today. Wish it would’ve followed up with a win, but I’m excited to see him continue to grow and build on a day like today.”
His next chance to get in the end zone will come on the road at the Jets.