Despite playing just eight games with the Jets in 2025, wide receiver Adonai Mitchell is set to work with his fourth starting quarterback in green and white when he suits up with Geno Smith this fall.
In fact, Mitchell hasn’t had consistent chemistry with a signal-caller since college, playing with three different quarterbacks during his 1 ¹/₂ seasons with the Colts as well.
While the revolving door at quarterback might discourage others, Mitchell said he “loves” the challenge and is embracing what he has in Smith.
In the offseason, Mitchell — who had 24 catches for 301 yards and two touchdowns with the Jets after a midseason trade last year — and second-year tight end Mason Taylor spent about a week in Florida training with the 13-year veteran quarterback.
The wide receiver said after a few days of playing together in grueling heat, he started “understanding [Smith’s] mind, understanding the way he thinks, understanding the way he sees the game.”
Mitchell also said he felt Smith learned a lot about him.
“Anytime you can get on the same page with the quarterback it will always be great,” Mitchell said at training camp Tuesday.
Now on the same page, both Mitchell and Smith will also have to build chemistry with new offensive coordinator Frank Reich.
The 23-year-old wide receiver said he heard from a lot of former Colts teammates who had played for Reich in Indianapolis during his run as head coach from 2018-22, when Reich was hired by the Jets.
“The first thing [Michael Pittman Jr.] told me was ‘You’re gonna like him,’ ” Mitchell said. “He’s a great coach, knows what he’s doing and has a great plan.”
Mitchell agrees with Pittman and has appreciated Reich’s philosophies. He said he “loves everything about him,” but especially that Reich lets him have freedom on routes.
Running back Breece Hall said something similar about Reich at the start of training camp, explaining that he “lets players play off reactions, make the plays their own, make the offense their own.”
If a free-flowing, instinctual offense comes to fruition this fall, Reich will have plenty of playmakers on the outside, including Mitchell.
Three-time 1,000-yard receiver Garrett Wilson is back from a right knee injury that kept him out of the second half of last season, rookie Omar Cooper Jr. is fresh off a national championship at Indiana, and players like Tim Patrick and Isaiah Williams provide depth.
The surrounding talent and a strong relationship with Smith could be what Mitchell needs to finally settle into the NFL two years after going No. 52 in the 2024 draft.
