FOXBORO, Mass. — Malcolm Mitchell doesn’t seem overly stressed about learning the New England Patriots’ massive offensive playbook that has plagued rookie and veteran wide receivers alike as it grows and grows with each passing year Tom Brady is under center.
That’s because the rookie is willing to put in the work.
Mitchell, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, said he studies his playbook every night until he falls asleep. He stayed in his playbook even as he went home to Georgia in the five-week break between organized team activities and training camp.
He actually successfully makes the process of learning the playbook sound simple.
“My mom always said ‘you put as much into something as you want to,’ to be completely honest,” Mitchell said Sunday. “It’s only hard if you make it. Learning is just simply looking over information long enough until it becomes habit or instinctive, and that’s all you have to do. Now, will that take an hour or will it take five? I guess that depends on how long you learn. …
“Preparation just goes back to learning and how focused you are, right? If I want to come out here and compete everyday, I have to be hydrated, so I have to drink a lot of water. It’s really simple when you think about it, it’s just will you do it or not?”
Mitchell also picks the brains of his teammates for tips on how to improve. He walked out to Sunday’s training camp practice alongside a pretty good guy from which to learn — quarterback Tom Brady.
“He’ll give you advice depending on if you ask him or not,” Mitchell said. “That’s with most of the players to be completely honest. From any of the experienced players — Tom’s been in the game so long, Nate Washington, even (Rob Gronkowski). You talk to people on defense, some of the safeties and just pick up little keys that can help you as a player and possibly help you be part of the team.”
Whatever Mitchell is doing is working. He was a standout performer Sunday, catching four passes during 1-on-1 drills over cornerbacks Justin Coleman, Darryl Roberts and V’Angelo Bentley. He also caught three passes during team drills — two from Brady and one from Jimmy Garoppolo.
“It’s all pride,” Mitchell said about 1-on-1s. “It’s man on man — who’s better? And whoever ends up with the ball, and in their case if no one ends up with the ball, they won.”
Mitchell said he concentrates on one aspect of his game every day, whether that’s a particular route or something a coach has mentioned. But his main priority is having a good time.
“Today my focus was to work as hard as I could and let everything else take care of itself,” Mitchell said. “Have as much fun as you can, that’s what I came out here and tried to do, just enjoy it.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
