Ad Disclosure
Former Georgia WR Malcolm Mitchell makes impressive NFL debut for New England Patriots
By Jason Hall
Published:
Few expected the New England Patriots to pull off a win Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals without the likes of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and several others.
Instead, the Pats were willed by the performances of several newcomers, including former Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
Mitchell made his first NFL career start Sunday and played 55 percent of snaps — which was 28 percent more than Danny Amendola — during New England’s 23-21 win, according to NESN.com. His performance was a huge surprise, especially considering he missed New England’s last three preseason games with a dislocated elbow and sat out of practice until last week.
“Malcolm really did a lot for us up until the New Orleans game, when he was injured in that preseason game,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Monday in a conference call. “Then he came back, I thought he worked hard to get back on the field and had a good week of practice last week before the Arizona game. Other than those couple weeks he missed, he’s been out there a lot, and he’s done a good job for us.
“Obviously that’s why we kept him on the team, but he did a good job and has done a good job for us in training camp. He’s been a pretty steady performer other than those couple weeks he missed after the New Orleans week.”
Mitchell ended Sunday’s game with two catches on five targets — the third-most on the team behind Julian Edelman and running back James White — for 33 yards. His 28-yard catch and run displayed his ability to turn upfield with the ball, which is something New England has been searching for in a receiver.
Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
