Who Should I Start? Kyle Philips or Adonai Mitchell

Tuesday, February 18, 8:54 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders signed free-agent wide receiver Kyle Philips to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Philips, a former fifth-round selection by the Tennessee Titans in 2022 out of UCLA will head to the AFC West after spending all of the 2024 campaign on the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2022 and 2023, he caught only 23 of 35 targets for 259 yards and no touchdowns in 13 games played (no starts). The 25-year-old pass-catcher also saw time on special teams as a kickoff and punt returner, which will probably be his best path to a roster spot with the Raiders. Philips will be reuniting with his old head coach at UCLA in Chip Kelly, who is now the Raiders' offensive coordinator under new head coach Pete Carroll. Philips's familiarity with Kelly won't guarantee him a roster spot out of training camp, though.

Monday, June 16, 12:23 PM

The Athletic's Stephen Holder writes that Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell had one of the most impressive performances at last week's mandatory minicamp. The 22-year-old second-round pick (52nd overall) in 2024 had an uneven and frustrating rookie campaign and finished with 23 catches on 55 targets for 312 yards and no touchdowns in 17 games (seven starts). Mitchell also looked good in training camp last summer, so now it's a matter of him taking his practice reps into the regular season. "I think last offseason, same thing. Did some really good things. He's had a hell of an offseason so far through OTAs. [I] expect that to continue through training camp. But getting to those game situations, [it's] just continuing to get those game reps and really taking that next step," head coach Shane Steichen said. Mitchell has the talent to take the next step, but target volume could be an issue again.