Not being on a team does not equate to lack of talent. Otherwise, you'd have to say the same for Dez Bryant, Eric Reid, even Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. All three of them still have the talent to be on an NFL roster even if it isn't first string. No, the fact he isn't on a roster has to do with age/money/team contributions. Moreover, while I'd agree with you that last year he suffered, my argument is that there was no reason BEFORE last year to get rid of him. So, last year, we see a drop off. In the offseason, he's gone. Sounds about right.
And, yes, there was adrop. In 2015 and 16, he had almost the same impact on the game (although 3 ints to 1 int in 16). He had 58 and then 55 tackles respectively, and 22 assists and nine passes defended both years.
According to "Approximate value" from pro-football reference, both years equaled his best year before coming to the Steelers. Funny thing, that number puts him tied for seventh BEST for all safeties in 2016 and tenth best in 2015. Yeah, not the bottom third by any means. Heck, an NFL 1000 "scout" put together a ranking system for this year, including coverage, recovery, slot performance, tackling, and position value. Mitchel was ranked 27 out of 45
this year, which is
still not bottom third. For 2015, Pro football focus also slotted every Safety (
twitter post) and Mitchell was 22, just after Charles Woodson and Kam Chancellor and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. That's 22nd of 86, or in the
top third and barely missing the top quarter.
So, no, every nonbiased stat site I find supports what my eyes told me. He was an above average safety that fell to average to sub-average because of age (and possible injury). However, he wasn't a bottom third talent by any means, not even last year.
Originally Posted by Craic
Reply With Quote