The Colts struggled in 2023 thanks to their first-round pick quarterback only playing in two full games, and parts of two others. Gardner Minshew filled in admirably, but he was no Anthony Richardson. With the running back and quarterback rooms set, the Colts looked to shore up their receivers on offense. So, let’s take a look at the two guys they took to take targets behind Michael Pittman.
FULL 2024 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS DRAFT RESULTS
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 15 | Laiatu Latu | EDGE | UCLA |
| 2 | 52 | Adonai Mitchell | WR | Texas |
| 3 | 79 | Matt Goncalves | OT | Pitt |
| 4 | 117 | Tanor Bortolini | OC | Wisconsin |
| 5 | 142 | Anthony Gould | WR | Oregon St |
| 5 | 151 | Jaylon Carlies | S | Missouri |
| 5 | 164 | Jaylin Simpson | S | Auburn |
| 6 | 201 | Micah Abraham | CB | Marshall |
| 7 | 234 | Jonah Laulu | DT | Oklahoma |
Round 2, Pick 52 Overall: Adonai Mitchell, Wide Receiver, Texas (6’2” 205 lbs)
Talent:
Mitchell just plain, flat-out, looks the part of an NFL wide receiver. He’s big and strong and already has an exceptionally varied route tree. While Mitchell can sometimes play down to his defender, he is always one of the best players moving around in the secondary. Mitchell has an incredible catch radius which he utilizes to get the hard yards when the play breaks down, but he also has great body control and ability to understand leverage to maximize his yards after the catch. He’s also a burner, posting a 4.34 40-yard dash at the combine. All in all, Mitchell just checks all of the boxes for a fantasy wide receiver.
NFL Comparison: Tee Higgins
2024 Opportunity:
Mitchell is already the second-best pass catcher on the Colts, and that shouldn’t be particularly controversial. Michael Pittman is the clear #1, and some might say that Josh Downs is the #2 over Mitchell, but he is more of a downfield guy than a solid #2, as evidenced by the fact that his efficiency went down as his targets went up (and aDOT dropped). Mitchell, however, gives Anthony Richardson another weapon that he should be able to utilize alongside Michael Pittman. After all, they have this same player but worse in Alec Pierce, so it’s clear that they like the profile.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
Mitchell is currently WR66 off the board. That is to say, that he’s free. He’s behind Quentin Johnston, Khalil Shakir, Rashid Shaheed, and Josh Palmer, among others. He’s extremely undervalued at that cost, especially given that the Colts don’t really have anyone other than Mitchell and Pittman to take the lion’s share of targets. At that price point, it’s hard to pass on a guy with top-36 potential in his rookie season based on pure volume alone.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 5, Pick 142 Overall: Anthony Gould, Wide Receiver, Oregon State (5’8” 174 lbs)
Talent:
Anthony Gould spent most of his time at Oregon State flailing at passes wide of their target, but that’s not his fault. The good news is that I quickly learned that he is quite adept at catching outside of his frame, mostly because he had no other choice. He’s shifty and fast, with good ball skills, though he struggles with running routes. He is sloppy in that aspect, and that combined with his small size, will give him trouble in the NFL. He will be a nice fourth or fifth receiver for a team, but I can’t see him moving higher up the depth chart unless it’s for an injury. He was a very good return man, which is likely where we will see him in the NFL.
2024 Opportunity:
Anthony Richardson played at least 95% of snaps in two games last season, finishing with an average of 31 pass attempts per game, or 527 for an NFL season. The volume is there to support Pittman, Mitchell, Downs, and Jonathan Taylor… but not Anthony Gould, who, again, will primarily be a return man for the Colts.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
1.8% of wide receivers drafted on day three matter in their rookie seasons; I’m betting on the 98.2% here.
