Adonai Mitchell opens up on Hall of Fame tutelage from Reggie Wayne

We all know who WR1 in Florham Park is. For the last half-decade, Garrett Wilson has provided the only punch the New York Jets have at that position. Will this season be any different? I don't know. But there are some interesting names that elicit more excitement than previous seasons.

For one, Wilson will have a fellow high-college-pedigree guy in rookie Omar Cooper Jr. out of Indiana. Depending on how he performs, he has every opportunity to slot in right behind Wilson. But then there's a very fascinating potential weapon in young Adonai Mitchell. Going into year three in the league and his first full season as a Jet, there's a lot to nod your head in approval about.

But what's made me nod my head the most emphatically is hearing who the young wideout leaned on for tutelage in his early days. There's a small handful of receivers from the 2000s and 2010s who can truly call themselves great. And one of them spent a lot of time with Mitchell in 2024, teaching him route details.

And the Jets can't thank that man enough for the free coaching.

Reggie Wayne took New York Jets WR Adonai Mitchell under his wing

The Jets made a decision in November last season to overhaul a large chunk of their roster. Some might go so far as to call it a fire sale. Quinnen Williams was shipped off to Dallas. Sauce Gardner was sent packing for Indianapolis. And Michael Carter II was moved to Philly. In return came younger pieces and draft picks.

One of the key returns from the Gardner trade, specifically, described at the time as a "throw-in" piece, was Adonai Mitchell. The crown jewels of the package were the two first-round picks, to be certain. But landing a talented 23-year-old receiver on top is quite the cherry on the ice cream. And while there's still a long way to go, he performed admirably, starting in four of eight games to wrap up the 2025 campaign.

And during an interview with Jets' media at practice, he revealed who his first real mentor in the NFL was in his rookie season.

Not bad company to hang around, huh?

Backtracking to Mitchell's roots a bit, after two mediocre seasons under Kirby Smart in Georgia, Mitchell transferred to Texas ahead of the 2023 season. That is where he found his footing. Under Steve Sarkisian, he put up 55 receptions and just under 850 yards in 14 games.

He led the Big 12 in touchdowns with 11, and finished the season with a 74.1 Pro Football Focus receiving grade and an outstanding 89.4 hands-drop grade. He ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the combine with an 11'4 broad jump.

This is a talented player and a serious athlete. He didn't do his damage in the Sun Belt Conference either. He went up against high-level talent and produced. And he proved he belongs on the field with the highest-caliber athletes with his performance at the combine.

His first season in the pros was marred by mediocre quarterback play, the 25th-ranked passing offense, and inconsistent production. It wasn't his best work, I'll admit it. But he did nothing to tell us he's a lost cause. He got better as the season went along, and it's no wonder, given that Reggie Wayne was in his ear the whole time.

For much younger fans, Reggie Wayne wasn't just a solid receiver. He was truly elite. In 14 seasons, all for the Colts, he appeared in every game except for his first season and his last two seasons. He had seven seasons of over 80 catches, four seasons of over 100 catches, a season with over 1,500 yards receiving, and a career touchdown total of 82 with 1,070 receptions for 14,345 yards.

Yeah, he was pretty good.

And some might say, "Well, sure, he had Peyton Manning throwing to him. That helped him be great." That's true. But Reggie Wayne was so shockingly talented, I would legitimately argue, that Manning had HIM to throw to, which helped Manning be great. This is an all-time talent who's been to two Super Bowls, won one, and seen everything there was to see in the NFL.

So as the Gang Green brass evaluate all their chess pieces over the coming months and year, they have to be delighted that one of those chess pieces went to the school of Hall of Fame receiving before ever arriving in Florham Park. Does that mean he's the next Reggie Wayne? Certainly not. Does that even mean he's going to be really good? No, not necessarily.

But I can say one thing without a shadow of a doubt. If you asked me whether it would be better for AD Mitchell to have experience with Reggie Wayne as his mentor, or for him NOT to have that experience, I know what my answer is ten times out of ten.

And it's obviously not the latter.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow