Expectations for Mitchell next year?

[40yrpatsfan]

What Mitchell does in conjunction with Hogan is force the D to commit their top 2 CB's on them in man to man. If they don't, TB will torture that D all day long, cause Mitchell can repeatedly get open 10-12 yards downfield, and Hogan deeper. That means your two most dangerous receivers Gronk and Edelman are playing against weaker cover guys.

 

[Deus Irae]

Good point DI. I suspect we all agree Mitchell's outlook seems more promising based on how he has got here and what he has done so far. For Dobson it was always flashes of one step forward then disappointment of two steps back. To be fair injury made life tough on Dobson, however, the dreaded eye test suggests Mitchell has a very tangible possibility to be this decade's version of David Givens. Dobson just never could reach that sustained looking productivity he was capable of but never could get there.

Side question: if FLoyd is re-signed, does this squeeze Mitchell's possible targets? Or will they be different flavors of WR, and it is Hogan and Mitchell who are at odds?

This is going to get a lot of people saying "No way!" but, right now, I see a bit of Brandon Lloyd in this kid.

• He's going to bulk up/tone/strengthen
• He's got good hands
• He's not going to be winning lots of footraces with top end corners
• He's going to get open with precision and body placement
• He's going to be able to impact short/middle, with an occasional deep shot

I don't think this kid's going to be looking to take a dive after every catch, but I think the team's probably going to have the same long talk with him that they've apparently had about a hundred time with Edelman. That's the talk that goes "Sometimes, sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor, and you have to decide to live to fight another day".

 

[PatsBoy12]

He played well and it appears Tom really likes him a lot. He even talked about Mitchell gaining so much trust with the other offensive players and McDaniels. They're willing to call on him in big situations. Unlike Cyrus, the game didn't seem too big for him. I'm excited about him.

 

[PatsBoy12]

This is going to get a lot of people saying "No way!" but, right now, I see a bit of Brandon Lloyd in this kid.

• He's going to bulk up/tone/strengthen
• He's got good hands
• He's not going to be winning lots of footraces with top end corners
• He's going to get open with precision and body placement
• He's going to be able to impact short/middle, with an occasional deep shot

I don't think this kid's going to be looking to take a dive after every catch, but I think the team's probably going to have the same long talk with him that they've apparently had about a hundred time with Edelman. That's the talk that goes "Sometimes, sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor, and you have to decide to live to fight another day".

Haha, Edelman is apparently not listening then because he still plays with reckless abandon.

 

[PatsBoy12]

1600 yards, 14 touchdowns, first team All Pro, Super Bowl MVP.

I'll take that every day of the week and twice on gamedays.

 

[Deus Irae]

Haha, Edelman is apparently not listening then because he still plays with reckless abandon.

Absolutely. He talked about it during a recent interview. It started down that path when the interviewer played the clip with him talking about "I get defensive" with the official.

 

[Ivan]

Well, OK, if we have to settle for that.
Ivan, be careful about all that compromising though.

Thanks, I try to be cautious.

 

[Kdo5]

60 catches, 800 yards, 5-7 TD's is my expectation if he is healthy and plays the full season.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Dobson wasnt good his rookie year. His numbers are good because he was basically the #1 target, but he sucked. Lots of drops.

He showed potential but he never lived up to it. The lights were too bright for him.

 

[Simpelton]

Honestly I'm a little worried about Gronkowski's health. He's already been hurt a lot in his young career, and he throws himself around hard. He's a freak of nature and may surprise me, but at the end of the day he's using his body up very quickly and I suspect we're going to reach a point in the next couple years where either Gronk slows his roll a bit, or Mother Nature and Father Physics force the matter.

I'll just put it this way -- with the way injuries tend to accumulate, I don't think the fact that Gronk was hurt in the last 2 Superbowls as a coincidence, and I'm really glad to see the options behind him coming along very nicely indeed. And I really hope that BB makes a conscious decision to save Gronk for the playoffs this year and lets the younger receivers and whatnot have a little more ball time.

 

[IcyPatriot]

When he gets covered by the opponents #2 corner regularly we will know ... until then we know he can be a #3 option at the very least.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I think 20 or so catches until he gets out on ir.

 

[raduray]

The offense at its peak efficiency goes through Edelman and Gronk. With those 2 guys healthy Mitchell and Hogan can get theirs.. sprinkle in Lewis/White you have an unstoppable offense.

Mitchell and Hogan as established viable receivers will make life easier for Edelman and Gronk, and Brady as well.

 

[raduray]

I wish. Moss was a once in a generation player, I think he will be more of a Jerry Rice, but without cheating his entire career.

Well, OK. I guess if we can't get Randy Moss we'll just have to settle on Jerry Rice

 

[PatsFan2]

With another off season hope Mitchell develops better timing with Brady especially on deeper routes. Brady missed him badly a few times last season hoping they iron those connections out.

 

[stinkypete]

Settle down everyone, name one WR drafted by Belichick who vaulted into superstardom in year 2.

Mitchell begins the season as the #3 target in this offense at best. This is if he vaults ahead of Hogan, which is no guarantee. If Mitchell is any higher target than this, it means either Edelman or Gronk are lost for the year.

A realistic expectation is that Mitchell's early career follows a Branch/Givens arc, one useful piece in a deep passing offense. He could emerge as a star, but that opportunity is still a few years off. WRs are brought up slow in this system.

 

[New England Pride]

Realistically, probably 65-80 catches for 800-1000 yards. 4-7 scores.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

The thing about Mitchell is that, unlike all our other receivers except Gronk, he wins 1 on 1 battles. Watching a game like the SB, you get the feeling he could torture a defense all day long on 5 to 20 yard passes on the edges, and there's little they can do about it except put their #1 corner on him and hope for the best. There's some Brandon Marshall in him.

Also if you've seen him interviewed, he's very sharp, articulate, thoughtful. Easy to picture he and Brady getting & staying on the same page.

 

[condon84]

Brady feasts on throws in the middle. If defenses do what Atl did and Brady has to throw more to the perimeter, Mitchell could stack up his stats.

So I guess it really depends on what defenses do. Mitchell isn't a match up nightmare like Gronk who Brady will force the ball to even if he's defended well.

 

[meatface]

There's no way, under any circumstance, that Aaron Dobson would perform as well under pressure as Mitchell did in the Super Bowl.

Do you remember a guy by the name of Jonas Gray?