New York Jets
Face of the Franchise
Breaking down Adonai Mitchell’s touchdown against the Falcons and what it could mean for him going forward
Source: https://www.ganggreennation.com/new...-and-what-it-could-mean-for-him-going-forward
Adonai Mitchell’s third quarter touchdown provided a needed offensive spark for the Jets in their Week 13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
On the play, Mitchell was running a vertical route (yellow).
The Falcons come out in Cover 4. The two outside cornerbacks and two deep safeties are dividing the field into quarters. This is typically a very difficult coverage to throw a deep ball against since the deep zones are loaded with defenders.
On this play something subtle happens. John Metchie is running an inside breaking deep route from the slot. He angles his stem to draw a deep defender away from a help position on Mitchell.
This means that the corner covering Mitchell will not have the help he is expecting inside.
Despite this play beginning with the corner leaving a huge cushion on Mitchell, the wide receiver accelerates past the coverage.
Mike Hughes, the corner trailing Mitchell, then gets acquainted with the MetLife Stadium turf, falling as he tries to catch up.
The ball is a bit underthrown, but Mitchell is now alone and is able to make a nice adjustment to secure the catch.
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There were a lot of aspects to like for the Jets in this play. I wanted to give Metchie a little shout out. It’s not that the way he ran the route was revolutionary, but it was something subtle that helped a bit in an otherwise rough game.
For Mitchell it was impressive to see how effortlessly he ran past Hughes.
Speeed is only one part of playing wide receiver in the NFL, but it can open things up for a receiver.
Most of Mitchell’s receptions in this game weren’t really challenged by the Falcons. They were providing him a big cushion off the line of scrimmage.
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Another play:
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I’m not sure the Falcons are playing so soft purely out of fear of Mitchell’s speed. From watching the film of this game, I get the feeling that’s just the way their defense works.
If we are being honest, this is also pretty lousy defense. Life is going to be really easy on Adonai Mitchell or any wide receiver if they are handed receptions like this on a silver platter without needing to beat coverage.
Still I would say these are good examples of what Mitchell’s speed could help produce if he can be a consistent deep ball artist. When you can produce splash plays, defenses account for it. They start to provide a big cushion out of fear of being beaten over the top. That provides a lot of room to operate underneath. Suddenly you don’t need to run great routes to be open in the short game.
This was an impressive start for Mitchell. Now we will see whether he can build on it and create headaches for the defense consistently.
Source: https://www.ganggreennation.com/new...-and-what-it-could-mean-for-him-going-forward