The Jets have tried everything to find Garrett Wilson a running mate. Corey Davis got hurt. Elijah Moore got traded. Mecole Hardman never stuck. Now the answer might be a guy who arrived almost as an afterthought in the Sauce Gardner trade last year. Adonai Mitchell, the 2024 second-round pick the Colts couldn't get right, is being handed the keys to the Jets' No. 2 receiver job, and this time the front office insists it's not a Hail Mary.
Mitchell's résumé is thin but not nothing. He's got 56 career catches across three seasons, and after landing in New York he flashed in a hurry: 24 receptions in just eight games last year, much of that production coming while Wilson himself was banged up. That's the catch with Mitchell's tape so far. It's real, but it came in a Wilson-less offense, which makes it tough to know exactly what target share he inherits once the actual Batman is healthy and on the field every Sunday.
The vibes this summer, at least, are all trending up. Mitchell spent five days in Miami this offseason working out privately with new starting quarterback Geno Smith, building the kind of rapport that usually shows up on the stat sheet come September. Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson has been gushing too, saying flatly that if Mitchell keeps trending the way he has, "he will be a really good Robin for our Batman. Big time." Coaches talk their guys up every August, sure, but this is a specific, pointed comparison for a team that's been searching for its Robin since the Zach Wilson era.
It helps that the whole offense around him looks sturdier than it has in years. Tight end Mason Taylor is locked up through 2028. Breece Hall and Wilson are both under contract deep into the decade. The Jets also brought in Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr. as recent first-round investments in the skill-position group, and Hall himself called this unit the best and most cohesive he's played in. Mitchell, signed through 2027, isn't walking into a barren cupboard. He's walking into a room that's finally got real talent and real continuity at quarterback for once.
For fantasy purposes, Mitchell is still a dirt-cheap flier, not a locked-in starter. His ADP has been climbing, jumping from the 18th round to roughly the 15th round on some platforms over the past month, while FantasyPros still has him closer to pick 200 and other sites peg him in Yahoo's 150s. Translation: he's a late-round dart, not a guy you're reaching for. But drafters chasing cheap upside in a crowded, gadget-y Jets passing game should have him circled as one of the better value plays in that range, especially in best ball or deeper leagues where WR depth matters.
The risk is obvious and it's the same one that dogged him in Indianapolis: drops and inconsistency. Mitchell has the size and speed profile of a true X receiver, but he hasn't strung together a full, clean season yet, and target competition from Cooper, Sadiq and a healthy Hall out of the backfield means volume is anything but guaranteed. If he trips up early in camp or preseason, that WR2 job could get muddier fast, especially with the Jets clearly comfortable spreading the ball around to multiple weapons rather than force-feeding one guy.
Watch the preseason reps and the Jefferson-Geno Smith connection reports closely over the next few weeks. If Mitchell is running with the first-team offense and getting real burn on money downs, his ADP is going to keep climbing right up until kickoff, and the value window on him as a cheap best-ball dart could close quickly. If he's still splitting snaps in a rotation by Week 1, treat him as a wait-and-see waiver stash instead of a draft-day priority. Either way, this is the clearest shot New York has given any receiver at the Robin job since they took Wilson second overall.