It's been a dizzying last month for Adonai Mitchell, going from "a situation I was comfortable in" with Indianapolis to becoming one of the new young press-and-play dudes in the Jets wide receivers room.
"I was pretty shocked, like kind of everybody else was, kind of shocked ... and not really that shocked," Mitchell said of the trade that brought him to northern New Jersey a week after the Jets also traded for WR John Metchie III. "I was excited. It was a brand new start. It kind of felt like being a rookie again."
Mitchell had to get to know whole family of new faces, not to mention the innumerable pages of pass patterns in the Jets playbook. But what made the transition easier was being with a longtime friend ... sort of.
"Tyrod has done an amazing job just helping me and Metchie out," Mitchell said of Tyrod Taylor, who became the receivers' starting QB the week before Sunday's game at the Ravens. "Especially this past week, we just spent pretty much the whole week together. And before we were really acclimated to the offense, he took the time to explain to us certain things with the plays. He's definitely a vet's vet."
Taylor. also in that odd way that virtual relationships can develop in the NFL, can be a BTF — best teammate forever? — even though Mitchell, in his season-plus with Indianapolis, had never played with the 15th-year QB. But AD remembers Tyrod fondly from the QB's first days as a pro with Baltimore in 2011.
"I was joking earlier this week with him that I just remember when he took his first snap as a Raven," Mitchell said. "I was like, 'Dang, when did the Ravens get Mike Vick? This dude is nice.'
"I was probably 12 or younger around the time. So it's cool to be around him and get all the knowledge I can, because I don't know how much longer he wants to play this game. But I'm glad I'm able to get a piece of the action and just learn from him as much as I can. He played with dudes like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed — that's amazing."