ESPN: Mitchell solidified himself as Jets’ No. 2

Mitchell led the Jets in targets while playing 61 of the team’s 74 snaps and running a route on 41 of their 50 dropbacks. Mitchell was also targeted on a deep ball that led to a defensive pass interference call and would have had another 40+ yard completion if it weren’t for a truly impressive play by the Green Bay defensive back. The Jets are getting no push from their offensive line, so the team will likely need to take to the air to use the ball. That figures to be good news for Mitchell, especially next week against a banged-up Lions secondary.

Picking up where he left off for the Jets last season, only this time with hopefully better quarterback and line play, Mitchell caught a 40-yard pass in the third quarter to set the Jets up in the red zone. His receiving slash wasn’t bad considering the fact Geno Smith dropped back only 24 times in a game the Jets controlled start to finish. They didn’t need to open the offense up, and they very much did not. That should change for Week 2 against the Packers, where Mitchell can be fired up as a boom/bust WR4.

Cooper played extensively in the Jets’ first preseason game, prompting The Athletic’s Zach Rosenblatt to write that WR Isaiah Williams appeared to have overtaken Cooper for the starting slot receiver job. This week, Cooper out-snapped WR Isaiah Williams six to one on the first drive. Williams continued playing on the second drive before rotating with Cooper on the third. PFF’s Nathan Jahnke notes that when Cooper returned, he lined up out wide while Williams manned the slot. Williams caught 3-of-5 targets for 17 yards and one fumble, though it was recovered by the Jets. It appears as though Cooper may have regained his spot as the Jets’ WR3 behind WR1 Garrett Wilson and WR2 Adonai Mitchell. Cooper still makes for a risky late-round dart throw, but he will get more chances to contribute.

Mitchell was a headcase in Indianapolis but got with the program after being traded to New York last year. He closed the season with 301 yards in eight games as a Jet. The team heaped praise on Mitchell throughout the offseason and he has seemingly ridden that momentum into camp. Mitchell’s spike games will be hard to pin down, but he should at least provide Best Ball drafters with some usable weeks.

Rosenblatt said in early June that Mitchell would have a shot to become a “crucial piece” of the team’s offense. Mitchel highlights have poured out of Jets OTAs over the past couple weeks as the third-year wideout looks to carve out a role in the New York passing offense. Mitchell over eight games with the Jets in 2025 had 301 yards and two touchdowns as the team’s WR2. He was an air yards dominator from Week 11-18 with the Jets; only Michael Wilson had more air yards than Mitchell over that span. “I just want to be in a room that he’s in because he’s going to light up the room,” Jets OC Frank Reich said, adding that Mitchell can “complement” Garrett Wilson. “First of all, just with his mentality, he’s got this winning mentality, this positive vibe about him, and I think we all feel that on the field.” With enough confidence from Geno, Mitchell could be an exciting if volatile fantasy option in 2026.

This comes almost a month after Rosenblatt said he believed Mitchell felt “pretty locked into the No. 2 receiver role.” The 23-year-old receiver spent part of last season with the Jets after being traded from the Colts at last year’s deadline. Mitchell saw 58 targets come his way in eight games with the Jets last season and posted a 24-301-2 line while going for 50-plus yards in two of those games. The upgrade from Brady Cook to Geno Smith should work wonders for Mitchell as far as target quality is concerned, and he’s reportedly shown good chemistry with Smith during OTAs. Currently going as a late-round draft pick in best ball leagues, Mitchell has the chance to be a nice value in deeper fantasy leagues if he can earn a meaningful role opposite Garrett Wilson.

Omar Cooper Jr. is primarily a slot player, and the Jets didn’t bring in real competition at outside receiver for Mitchell. That doesn’t necessarily mean big things are afoot for Mitchell’s fantasy value — between Cooper and Kenyon Sadiq, there would appear to be more mouths to feed in an offense that starved many last year — but it does mean he should at least see the majority of the snaps this year.

Mitchell finishes the season with 33 receptions on 71 targets for 453 yards and two touchdowns. The vast majority of that production came with the Jets after the trade deadline, posting 24 catches on 56 targets for 301 yards and two touchdowns in eight games. While he likely wasn’t as consistent as the Jets wanted, Mitchell did flash enough upside to be an intriguing part of a 2026 wide receiver corps alongside a healthy Garrett Wilson. Until the Jets upgrade at quarterback, it’s hard to want to target Mitchell in 2026 drafts as he figures to be behind Wilson in the pecking order.

Mitchell easily led the Jets in targets, racking up a 26 percent target share. He undoubtedly saw plenty of air yards as well, but Brady Cook was unable to connect with him on many of their deep shots. Cook’s only interception of the day came on a heave to Mitchell down the left sideline. Cook simply didn’t have the arm to get it to Mitchell and a New England defender fielded the ball like an outfielder. Mitchell will get one more shot at converting his air yards to receiving yards in Week 18 versus the Bills.

Mitchell once again led the Jets in air yards and targets in the check down-centric offense led by QB Brady Cook, who was sacked eight times against the Saints and rarely had time to let downfield routes to develop for Mitchell. With 33 targets over the past four weeks, Mitchell has some appeal as a WR4 option. If Tyrod Taylor were to get the starting nod in Week 17 against the Patriots, Mitchell would have much more upside than he’s had with the popgun-armed Cook.