James

Mitchell

Mitchell is thought to be the reason the Lions were comfortable moving on from T.J. Hockenson in the middle of the season, whose athletic skillset appears to be a natural fit with the aggressive Lions scheme. Mitchell saw no more than 29% of the offensive snaps in any game during his rookie season, likely due to his below average pass-blocking grades coming out of college. That said, his collegiate metrics were shockingly on par with Kyle Pitts, at least as far as his pass-catching abilities are concerned. If Mitchell can develop the rest of his game this offseason, the sky is the limit on what he can do as a professional. Dynasty managers can feel comfortable carrying Mitchell on rosters through the offseason for the sheer upside he possesses.

The fifth-round rookie entered Week 9 with only one target all season. The bigger role was made possible by T.J. Hockenson’s trade to Minnesota. Mitchell’s score was a three-yarder where the defense simply lost track of him. Although it stands to reason Mitchell will see more work down the stretch as the Lions go into evaluation mode, it’s hard to believe he will become a top-20 option at tight end.

Wright has progressed from a DNP on Wednesday to a full practice Friday, suggesting he will clear the protocol and suit up on Sunday. With T.J. Hockenson now in Minnesota, it would make sense for the Lions to see what they have in fifth-round rookie James Mitchell, but he is just returning from a serious knee injury and will likely be eased into action. That should leave Wright as the TE1 for now in Detroit, but he is nothing more than a flier in fantasy.

Brock Wright, Detroit’s other main tight end on the roster, was concussed last week, while the rookie fifth-rounder was only recently brought back after tearing his ACL at Virginia Tech last fall. Mitchell caught his first pass last week and could get some more looks in Week 9, though Amon-Ra St. Brown figures to be the early beneficiary of the Hockenson trade.

With D’Andre Swift (ankle) active for the game, the Lions do not have any major fantasy-relevant inactives in Week 3.

Mitchell is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered last September. Unsure of whether or not he’ll be ready for Week 1, Mitchell has been eased back in recent weeks and is expected to compete with Brock Wright and Garrett Griffin for the team’s No. 2 tight end spot. During his time at Virginia Tech, Mitchell totaled 52 receptions for 838 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging an impressive 16.1 YPR. Even if he was healthy, Mitchell is nothing more than a dynasty stash at this point.

“I’m pretty much back,” Mitchell said on his recovery from knee surgery. “Doing everything from running, cutting, running routes. I’ll be ready to go by training camp.” Mitchell is seven months removed from tearing his ACL but the Lions will move him slowly, likely limiting him in minicamp. The rookie fifth-rounder is expected to compete with Brock Wright and Garrett Griffin for the No. 2 role behind T.J. Hockenson.

Mitchell (6'4/249) broke out as a junior with a 26-435-4 receiving line that was good for 24% of Virginia Tech’s receiving yards and 40% of their receiving touchdowns. He remained a focal point in 2021 before tearing his ACL just two games into the season. Mithcell was impressively efficient as a receiver with a career 2.01 yards per route run, and in his breakout 2020, he was used to stretch the seam with an 11.5 aDOT. Mitchell’s lack of athletic testing makes his receiving profile difficult to project to the NFL level, but he has upside to operate as a productive move-TE when fully healthy. He could take a full redshirt year behind T.J. Hockenson in 2022 but should allow the Lions to use more 2TE sets once back to full speed.

Mitchell (6'3"/255) missed most of the season with a right knee injury. Mitchell was a multipurpose weapon, scoring seven receiving and five rushing touchdowns in his VT career. He was on the 2021 Mackey Award preseason watchlist, but was unfortunately injured before he could make a real run for the trophy.

Hokies HC Justin Fuente announced the news on Monday following an MRI. Mitchell was injured in the second quarter on Saturday on a tackle by Middle Tennessee safety Gregory Grate on a handoff near the goal line. This is a huge loss for the Hokies. Mitchell is an NFL prospect who had returned to campus to improve his draft stock. He was coming off a 26-435-4 receiving campaign. We’ll await to hear Mitchell’s future plans.