INDIANAPOLIS – Reggie Wayne is convinced the Indianapolis Colts are getting their money’s worth.
The team signed second-round draft pick Adonai Mitchell, the last of its nine-player draft class to come to terms. The value of the four-year deal under the NFL’s rookie wage scale: $7.386 million with a $2.19 million signing bonus.
Before Mitchell signed his rookie contract, his position coach offered a snapshot of what the Colts were getting. Wayne used the word “special’’ several times.
“So far, so good,’’ he said. “He’s coming in and he’s got a smile on his face every single day. He’s taking to coaching pretty good.
“I think what he’s going to bring to this team is pretty special. Right now, he’s getting bombarded with plays after plays after plays as far as the classroom part of it. But man, he’s catching on pretty good.’’
The Colts selected Mitchell with the 52nd overall pick in the draft. The 6-2, 205-pounder was the 11th wideout selected.
Mitchell disagreed with his draft entry.
“Right now the only thing I’m feeling is I’m just kinda pissed,’’ he said in a Zoom conference call. “I don’t really know what other way to call it.
“At the end of the day, people were chosen before me. That’s just the reality of it and my job now is to make ‘em pay and bring the best version of me every day to the Indianapolis Colts.’’
Mitchell will have a constant reminder – call it motivation – of his draft status. When it came time to select an available jersey, he opted for No. 10. That reflects the 10 wideouts taken ahead of him.
“At the end of the day, it is what it is,’’ he said during rookie minicamp. “I’m not bitter about it or anything like that. At the end of the day, it was between me and them and they got picked. That’s all motivation.’’
In 35 career games at Texas and Georgia, Mitchell had 93 receptions for 1,405 yards and 18 touchdowns. He averaged 15.1 yards per catch.
Mitchell was part of two national championships with Georgia, and Texas also reached the College Football Playoff in 2023. Last season, he led the Big 12 with 11 touchdown catches.
Wayne has been impressed with aspects of Mitchell’s route running. He observed them while attending Texas’ Pro Day.
“Just the way he got in and out of his routes,’’ Wayne said. “He’s a guy that’s different from everybody that we have in our room, you know what I mean? And that’s kind of what you want; different pieces to the puzzle so you can kind of put it all together and create a whole at some point in time.
“I already knew his hands were strong. He’s got pretty good hands. To be 6-2 and to be able to get in and out of your breaks that way, it’s pretty special. He does it pretty good.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.
