Jonathan Mingo is next up on our scouting report series. The Ole Miss wide receiver is someone who is climbing up draft boards as of late, and for good reason.
Mingo is a big-bodied wideout who has superb athleticism. Following his impressive pre-draft workouts, he received the third-highest “Relative Athletic Score” among all of the wide receivers in the class.
This feat is even more impressive when you realize that he stands at six-foot-two, weighing in at 220 pounds. Not to mention the fact that he combines his physically-imposing frame with legitimate 4.4 speed and a 39.5-inch vertical.
As always, this article is going to provide you with an educated opinion on the pros and cons of selecting the All-SEC wide receiver. I also briefly touch on the unfair narrative that many have created that Mingo is “the next A.J. Brown.”
But before we get started, a quick reminder that unless noted otherwise, all of the grades and individual rankings that are included are my own opinions.
The former Rebel is coming off a season in which he totaled 861 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Let’s take a deeper dive and see what else makes him such an intriguing prospect.
Measurables
- Height: 6’2”
- Weight: 220 pounds
- Hand size: 10 3/8”
- Arm length: 10 3/8″
- 40-time: 4.46
- Relative Athletic Score (RAS): 9.86
College Accolades
- Second-Team All-SEC (2022)
2022 stats
- Receptions: 51
- Yards: 861
- Touchdowns: Five
- Yards per reception: 16.9
- Yards per route run: 2.14
- Drop Rate: 7.3 percent
- Deep catches: 10 (416 yards)
- Screen catches: 15 (156 yards)
Grades, Projections, and Rankings
- Overall grade: 73.5 (second round)
- Ceiling projection: Early second
- Floor projection: Late third
- Position rank: No. 7
- Consensus rank: No. 15
Reasons to Buy In
- Elite athlete who finished with the third-highest RAS among all the wide receivers in the class.
- Big-bodied wideout who pairs his superb athleticism with the type of physicality that makes him a real problem for DBs to deal with once the ball is in his hands.
- He uses a calculated aggression at the catch point, paired with impressive body control to put himself in positions to succeed.
- Possesses tons of untapped potential and could thrive once he’s around consistent quarterback play at the professional level.
- Efficient footwork allows him to perform a plethora of savvy releases to shake aggressive defensive backs at the line of scrimmage.
- Understands the nuances of route-running, consistently improving his craft over time.
- Fantastic blocker who embraces the chance to get physical with the opposition.
Areas of Concern
- Not the most sudden or manipulative route-runner in the draft.
- Needs to do a better job of identifying and attacking the soft spots in zone coverages with more consistency.
- His overall technique needs to be refined to truly maximize his impressive skill set to the fullest.
- Occasionally struggles to separate from tight coverage, which could put him in more contested-catch situations than teams would prefer.
- Has to eliminate his concentration drops that show up at times.
- Hasn’t had the dominant production that you would expect from a potential top prospect.
- Not the most fluid or flexible with his ability to sink his hips in order to make sharp breaks at the top of his routes.
- Tons of false/unnecessary steps in his game, often leading to his need to decelerate before breaking off.
Fit with the Titans
Mingo is someone who would be a fantastic addition to the Titans on Day 2 of the NFL draft.
With that said, people have to stop comparing him to A.J. Brown just because they’re both buff wide receivers who played at Ole Miss. If you’re expecting Mingo to be Brown, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
And that’s not a knock on Mingo but rather all the praise in the world to someone like Brown, who is a top five wideout in the entire world for a reason.
Also, by the time he left Ole Miss, Brown was arguably the school’s greatest and most productive wide receiver in history.
Simply put: do not put that type of pressure on a kid just because you desperately want to fill that void.
Expecting that type of replacement on Day 2 of the draft is setting yourself up for a letdown. Maybe Mingo does turn into a superstar, but by no means should anybody be fully expecting it or acting like it’s a slam-dunk outcome.
Now that all of that has been said, there is a lot to like about the Ole Miss product.
Mingo is an elite athlete who is dangerous after the catch. He’s someone who you want to get the ball to early and often just to see if he can make anything happen.
He also presents a legitimate vertical threat for an offense and can not only get behind the defense, but he is also more than capable of going up and attacking the ball at its highest point.
Mingo does a good job of using his savvy release packages and detailed routes to put himself in positions to succeed.
He isn’t the most sudden route-runner in the class, but he makes up for it with efficient feet and physical routes that make him difficult to cover at times.
In fact, there was a lot of meat left on the bone when it comes to Mingo. He often dealt with subpar quarterback play.
There are several examples on tape of him getting open, but the pass is simply off target.
Had they connected on a few more of those errant throws, we’re probably talking about a thousand-yard wide receiver in the SEC in 2022.
Lastly, it’s no secret that the Titans love wide receivers who block, and Mingo is undoubtedly one of the best in the class in that area.
He also offers the type of position versatility that Tennessee tends to fall for. Out of his 440 pass snaps in 2022, Mingo lined up on the outside on 246 of them, while 154 of those snaps took place inside the slot.
The other 40 snaps were spent at a variety of different spots, such as the backfield, H-Back, etc.
It’s hard to imagine someone with this type of skill set not being on the Titans’ radar. Right now, I have him ranked as my seventh-best wide receiver in the class, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he climbs a little higher than that by the time draft weekend rolls around.
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