Quote:
Originally Posted by kccrow
I've wasted my breath (or fingers) on talking about this kid in two threads about the same thing. My perspective on him is already out there.
It's not going to change. I've said I'd be fine enough with him at 32 if that's the way the Chiefs go but there are plenty of issues there that team has to coach. Those issues, in my opinion, are already out there.
The problem I have is everyone points to 3 plays in one game as what defines him as a player instead of looking at the whole. The whole is nowhere near as impressive and shows a lot of holes in his game. Meanwhile, other much more productive, and skilled players fall under a microscope.
There is an easy attraction to a WR with size, speed, and good hands, I get it, but we shouldn't ignore the flaws and I don't see much acknowledgment of those flaws by anyone strongly in his camp. Hell, I'd settle for someone pointing out something great from a game that isn't the Alabama game because I have yet to read it. I'm strongly in the Troy Franklin camp but I acknowledge that he is not overly quick at release, he has some drop issues at times, and he has a scary slender build.
After all that, I do personally apologize for being a dick. I've had a really bad ****ing day from a personal perspective. It's something I've been dealing with in life for several years now that a select few people are aware of. So, it's not you, really. I do enjoy discussing the viewpoints.
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I will also apologize, in re-reading I took offense to the lazy and regurgitated take though it wasn't explicitly directed at me. I value your perspective quite a bit simply because we have diverging views frequently and its good to provide challenge to test our assertions.
I would be happy to talk about weaknesses I have identified in his game - I have probably watched his all game broadcast footage a seven or eight times - don't have access to the all-22 or really care to finagle that.
Overall, I put Mitchell as a plus Z receiver, which does go against the grain a little bit. He wins with routes and can box people out, but avoids contact at all costs and that precludes him as an X for me. He has deep speed and thrives against man coverage. He needs to speed up his game against zone coverage, though he seems to find space readily. The zone games were where I felt he played below his testing speed.
Strengths:
Man-beating corner with size and acceleration. Plays the corners like fiddles, waiting to get them out of position then using his acceleration to completely burn them. Watch the correlation between his indicator steps, the corner reaction, and his subsequent changes in direction and acceleration to create obscene space.
Some examples:
1) holding play against Terrion Arnold
2) first TD against Houston, incompletion with 14:03 left in Q4 v. K State
3) completion with 12:27 left in Q4 v K State
4) comebacker v. Iowa State Q3 6:45
5) v. Iowa State Q4 11:45 (creates 4-5 yards of space and ends up behind the defense, wish the ball would have been better to see him tracking that on the move though.)
6) v Texas Tech Q2 4:25
7) v. OSU Q1 12:58
8) v. OSU Q2 13:45
9) v. OSU Q3 4:45
10) v Washington Q4 10:40
Traits - highly explosive with good height/weight, super fluid hips, and strong hands - few drops though I would have credited him with a couple more than the drop rate statistic.
Excellent body control to make the boundary catches. (See the OU game for an example where Texas was exploiting the boundaries. He has many toe tapping grabs throughout the season.) Excellent body control example is v. Washington Q4 7:30.
Excellent ball tracking. Some examples:
1) TD v. BYU to go up 20-3, First TD v. K State (indicator step>fight through contact>track ball in sequence),
2) Catch w/ 3:24 rem. in Q1 v. K State,
3) Basically every play in Q4 v. K State.
4) Incompletion to start Q2 v. TCU
5) Play to seal the TCU game.
Gets good releases, though I found it hard to find a ton of snaps where he was going against press.
Willing blocker for Xavier Worthy later in the year. This is important with the Chiefs screen game and bunch looks.
QB Scramble drill
1) 13:00 Q2 v. Iowa State
Weaknesses:
Plays slower and with less apparent competitive fire against zone defenses - I am not sure if this is a processing thing, a confidence thing, or a motivational thing (IE Does he need the one-on-one competition to feed his competitive nature) A good example game would include Kansas - actually a very productive game, he has the capability to find soft spots in zones, but tends to just catch the ball, tries to avoid contact and looks way slower.
Lacks a certain physicality - Relies to much on avoiding contact in routes and as a ball carrier rather than using his size and strength to fight through the contact. The result is less YAC than you feel a guy of his size should get. It is apparent throughout his tape and why I think he fits the Z role, if you will, rather than the X role. Prime Examples:
1) v. Iowa State Q2 11:30 - TJ Tampa got him good there.
2) v. Washington Q4 00:01
Doesn't attack the ball as much as I would like - though there are few receivers who do. Some examples:
1) There was a play against OU where I thought he just gave up on a ball that he should have contested to prevent a pick;
2) there was a comebacker against Terrion Arnold where if he gets back to the ball more aggressively, he prevents Arnold from breaking up that pass
Ball security - fumbled a couple of times, but NFL teams will explicitly look to punch the ball out against him.
Compared to last years class, I think he is the first receiver off the Board. This year, I am lower on BTJ than most, so he is WR4 and a significant margin below the big 3.