The Detroit Lions brought rookie tight end James Mitchell along slowly in 2022. The fifth-round pick from Virginia Tech missed the end of his final college season with a knee injury, and the recovery process sidelined Mitchell for nearly the entire offseason.
Mitchell did eventually work his way into the lineup, playing 20 percent of the offensive snaps over the final 14 games. While he wasn’t targeted often, Mitchell made the most of his opportunities in the passing game.
In fact, Mitchell wound up having the most targets of any NFL player in 2022 who caught every pass thrown his way. The big rookie caught all 11 passes that QB Jared Goff intended for him.
Mitchell had the most by a landslide. Next in line was Jaguars TE Luke Farrell with four.
Goff proved quite effective at hitting his tight ends. Brock Wright caught 18 of his 24 targets, a 75 percent rate that was second-best on the Lions. Shane Zylstra caught 11 of 15 targets. The TE dealt away midseason, T.J. Hockenson, snagged 60 percent from Goff, catching 26 of his 43 targeted passes in seven games.
