It seems the Patriots draft a new wide receiver or two every year.
Every year, it seems Tom Brady and new receiver of the year cannot get on the same page, Brady loses confidence in that receiver, that receiver ends up in everyone’s dog house, and is then cut, traded, or otherwise run out of town.
Early in this season, we saw Malcolm Mitchell look like he and Jimmy Garoppolo were on the same page, with Mitchell being targeted 7 times in 6 quarters, with 3 catches. Mitchell had two more targets from Jacoby Brissett in week 3, with one catch for 27 yards. He showed flashes of potential in his first preseason game before dislocating his elbow.
Based on evidence from the past with rookies AND veterans across several seasons (brief list: Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Taylor Price, Chad Ochocinco, Joey Galloway) flaming out with Tom Brady, I was cautious with my hope in the Patriots developing a new, young weapon in their outside receiving corp. Sure, all those other guys went on to do nothing else in the league after their Patriots careers, but I wasn’t alone in this fear of yet another flame out. This other guy I know had something to say about it in his own cautiously sarcastic fashion:
Gonna suck when Brady comes back and hates Malcolm Mitchell isn’t it? I kid. I’m kidding. I think.
— Mike Dussault (@PatsPropaganda) September 23, 2016
When Tom Brady came back in week five, Malcom Mitchell had 2 catches for 7 yards on 3 targets. Okay, at least he was thrown to.
Weeks six and seven? 0 catches, 1 total target. Uh oh. Maybe the week eight bye will help?
Week nine against Seattle? 2 targets, 1 catch.
Then, starting in week ten, against lowly San Francisco, a glimmer of hope: 5 targets, 4 catches, 1 touchdown, 98 yards…and it continued the next week against the Jets, with Mitchell making Darrell Revis look completely pedestrian, hauling in 5 catches on 7 targets with 2 touchdowns, including the game winner.
This past week against the LA High Rams? 8 catches on 10 targets, 82 yards.
For a bit of comparison with a 4th/5th option at receiver for the Patriots from the recent past, Chad Ochocinco totaled 32 targets from Brady in the entire 2011 campaign (33 if you count postseason). Malcolm Mitchell has 28 so far this year, with 24 coming in the past four games.
Now, with Gronk and Amendola out, a hobbled Martellus Bennett, and some playoff calibur opponents on the horizon, it’s going to be on Malcolm Mitchell to make this the real thing. Brady seems to trust him. The league should now be awake to Mitchell’s receiving ability, and with a national audience on a Monday night, there is no time like now to make his presence felt as the real deal. If he’s about to blossom into a well rounded threat for the offense, the rest of the league will be on notice.
Malcolm, GO!