Jets WR AD Mitchell is NOT their breakout player for 2026
Ross Johnston explains why he thinks Jets WR AD Mitchell is NOT their breakout player for the 2026 season.
Video Transcript
Could AD Mitchell really be the Jets' biggest surprise player of the offseason?
I don't think so.
What's up, y'all?
It's Ross Johnson with A to Z Sports, and as we know, the Jets acquired AD Mitchell via the Sauce Gardner trade last year.
He put up three hundred yards with the team in eight games.
So not the greatest numbers, but this is a player with all the talent in the world.
For whatever reason, in his two seasons, it hasn't clicked for AD Mitchell yet, and it just takes some guys a little longer, and that's okay.
He has all the talent in the world to be a really good receiver in the National Football League.
But I'll give you two reasons why.
One, I have said here before, I believe Omar Cooper Jr, the rookie out of Indiana, first-round pick for the Jets, is going to be really freaking good, and I believe Kenyon Sadique is gonna be really good as well, another rookie, Mason Taylor as well, and Garrett Wilson too.
If Garrett Wilson's healthy, he was on track for a big season last year until he got hurt.
If he's healthy, I mean, he's shown that he's a thousand-yard receiver every year, doesn't matter who the quarterback is.
I think he's gonna put up big numbers.
So it's not to say that AD Mitchell can't be productive, but biggest surprise player would probably require more stats, and I don't think he will get all of that this year.
The second reason is I think I have the player who will be the Jets' biggest surprise, and I think that will be second-round corner out of Indiana, D'Angelo Ponds, who was a very popular player in the draft but due to his size and stature isn't really looked at to be a great NFL corner.
Now, s- I think people think he can be serviceable for sure, and I think that people recognize his talent and ability, but because of the size, I think people are overlooking him a good bit.
I think he is going to be a fantastic player right away for the New York Jets and carve out a role for himself in his rookie season.
I think he will be the biggest surprise player because they're gonna look at the Jets having three first-round picks.
None of them were D'Angelo Ponds.
He was taken in the second, so they're not looking at him to contribute all that much in his rookie season to the national media at least.
I think it's gonna be D'Angelo Ponds.
I think AD Mitchell will have a really good season and a serviceable season, but I don't think he will be the Jets' biggest surprise player.
