Adonai Mitchell Takes No. 10 Colts Jersey; Was Number Of WRs Drafted Ahead of Him

Indianapolis Colts rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell is using his slide to the late second round in the 2024 NFL draft as motivation as he enters the league.

The Colts announced Friday that Mitchell will wear No. 10 in the NFL, and ESPN's Stephen Holder added that the jersey number represents the fact that 10 wideouts were taken ahead of Mitchell in the draft.

After starring at Georgia and Texas, Mitchell was viewed as a potential late first-round pick during the draft process, but he fell all the way to the Colts at No. 52 overall.

In a draft that featured a loaded receiving class, seven wideouts came off the board in the first round, including Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall and Xavier Legette.

Then, Keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey and Ja'Lynn Polk went ahead of Mitchell in the second round.

Mitchell had just 38 receptions for 560 yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons at Georgia, but he won a pair of national championships.

In his one season at Texas, Mitchell put up career highs with 55 grabs for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns, plus he helped lead the Longhorns to a Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff.

Mitchell has good size at 6'2" and 205 pounds, and he tested well at the NFL Scouting Combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds.

All of those factors seemingly made him a safe bet to come off the board in the first round, but NFL Network and Go Long's Bob McGinn (h/t Holder) reported that Mitchell interviewed poorly with teams, leading to concerns about his attitude.

Holder added that Mitchell has struggled with consistency with regard to taking his Type 1 diabetes medication, which has possibly contributed to mood swings.

However, since getting drafted, Mitchell has hired a private chef and is "adhering to a nutritional plan to help him better govern his diet relative to his diabetes," per Holder.

After the Colts drafted Mitchell, general manager Chris Ballard pushed back against the negative narratives surrounding the talented receiver, saying: "It's crap. This is a good kid. And for those reports to come out, it's bulls--t."

If nothing else, the reports seem to have lit a fire underneath Mitchell, who has a chance to make an already talented Colts offense even more dangerous alongside wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Anthony Richardson.