Malcolm Mitchell hitting his stride in the NFL

After a frustrating career at the University of Georgia, Malcolm Mitchell is finally starting to hit his stride in the NFL.

No one ever questioned the talent Mitchell possessed, but something seemed to always be missing in his time in Athens.

College

As a freshman Mitchell quickly got into the rotation at wide receiver, but a hamstring caused him to miss three games. He still managed to finish second on the team with 45 receptions and 665 receiving yards and fourth on the team with four touchdowns.

As a sophomore Mitchell saw more of the same. He was a full-time starter as a sophomore and finished second in deep receiving corp with 40 receptions for 572 yards and four touchdowns.

But as a junior in 2013 the injury bug hit again when he tore his ACL celebrating Todd Gurley’s 80-yard touchdown run against Clemson.

But after being granted a medical redshirt, Mitchell was a junior again in 2014, but was never 100 percent healthy. He played in only nine games as a junior and started just three. He managed just 31 receptions for 248 yards and three touchdowns.

As a senior Mitchell was finally healthy and looked like the elite playmaker he was advertised to be. The only problem now was Greyson Lambert. Georgia’s quarterback did not have the ability to take the top off of opposing defenses, rendering Mitchell’s deep threat ability useless.

As Georgia’s only legitimate receiver in 2015, defenses were able to lock in on Mitchell. He still lead Georgia in receiving by a wide margin, posting career highs in across the board. He finished the season 58 receptions for 866 yards and five touchdowns.

NFL

The New England Patriots picked Mitchell in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft, 112th overall.

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But once again the injury bug bit Mitchell. He suffered what appeared to be a nasty elbow injury against the Saints in the preseason opener, but fortunately was not forced to miss any regular season games.

After catching just seven passes in the first eight games, Mitchell is finally hitting his stride. In the past two games Mitchell caught nine passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown with 1:56 left in the game against the Jets on Sunday.