With their 5th Round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected TE James Mitchell out of Virginia Tech.
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Following the pick, Mitchell spoke to reporters and he said the Lions had been in contact with him about potentially signing him as an undrafted free agent if he did not get selected by the time Round 7 was over. Because of this, he was surprised to get the call from the Lions
From Detroit Free Press:
“When they called me right there towards the end of Round 5 and said they were going to take me, I was pretty shocked,” Mitchell said. “But very grateful and excited to go there and get started.”
Heading into the 2021 season, Mitchell was considered by many to be a top 100 prospect or so but that was derailed when he tore his ACL in the Hokies' second game of the season.
“I would say I’m just a very versatile player,” Mitchell said. “At Virginia Tech, I was used all over the field. I became a better blocker as the years went on at Tech, but I pride myself in being able to play all over the field. I’m happy to be able to continue to go and learn behind a guy like T.J. Hockenson and soak it all in.”
“People want to see how I’m going to be once I get back, but I can’t control (how the injury impacted my draft stock),” Mitchell said. “All I can control is how I handle this process now, how I go in and work. I played 1½ games this year and I got drafted. I’m playing in the NFL now — well, I got drafted — so I’m blessed and I’m happy, so I’m just ready.”
Mitchell is a tight end who is a solid receiver but he can use some work when it comes to blocking.
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Cook's main knocks entering the draft are workload related while playing at Georgia. That and his weight (199 pounds). Cook did break the 1,000-yard barrier in 2021 (1,012 yards) after posting totals of 373, 320, and 528 yards in his first three seasons.
What's the breakdown of Cook with the Bills in 2022?
