Tight end, Virginia Tech, 2018–21
James Mitchell
- Number
- No. 82
- Height
- 6′3″
- Weight
- 242 lb
- Class (2021)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Big Stone Gap, VA
- Born
- Aug 11, 1999
James Mitchell played tight end at Virginia Tech (2018–21). The Detroit Lions took Mitchell in round 5, No. 177 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
103receiving yards, career highat North Carolina, 2020Receiving
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Virginia Tech | 21 | 363 | 17.3 | 2 | 67 |
| 2020 | Virginia Tech | 26 | 435 | 16.7 | 4 | 57 |
| 2021 | Virginia Tech | 5 | 42 | 8.4 | 1 | 20 |
| Career | 52 | 840 | 16.2 | 7 | 67 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Virginia Tech | 82 | TE | RS | ||
| 2019 | Virginia Tech | 82 | TE | Fr. | ||
| 2020 | Virginia Tech | 82 | TE | So. | ||
| 2021 | Virginia Tech | 82 | TE | Jr. | 6′3″ | 242 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Virginia Tech | 31 | 0.94 | 93rd (n=499) | 0.54 | 29.2 | 4% |
| 2020 | Virginia Tech | 42 | 0.74 | 77th (n=346) | 0.55 | 30.9 | 7% |
| 2021 | Virginia Tech | 4 | 1.18 | – | – | 4.7 | – |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2021 Virginia Tech 2 games, 5 catches, 42 yards, 1 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. | W 17–10 | 3 | 36 | 1 | 20 | – |
| Sep 11 | vs. | W 35–14 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
2020 Virginia Tech 9 games, 26 catches, 435 yards, 4 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | vs. | W 45–24 | 3 | 68 | 1 | 33 | – |
| Oct 3 | at | W 38–31 | 3 | 23 | 1 | 12 | – |
| Oct 10 | at | L 45–56 | 4 | 103 | 1 | 57 | 1 |
| Oct 17 | vs. | W 40–14 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 10 | – |
| Oct 24 | at | L 16–23 | 3 | 51 | 1 | 39 | – |
| Oct 31 | at | W 42–35 | 3 | 46 | 0 | 24 | – |
| Nov 21 | at | L 14–47 | 2 | 46 | 0 | 38 | – |
| Dec 5 | vs. | L 10–45 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 7 | – |
| Dec 12 | vs. | W 33–15 | 3 | 67 | 0 | 41 | – |
2019 Virginia Tech 11 games, 21 catches, 363 yards, 2 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | at | L 28–35 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 11 | – |
| Sep 7 | vs. | W 31–17 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 | – |
| Sep 14 | vs. | W 24–17 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Sep 27 | vs. | L 10–45 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Oct 5 | at | W 42–35 | 3 | 75 | 0 | 67 | 1 |
| Oct 12 | vs. | W 34–17 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 | – |
| Oct 19 | vs. | W 43–41 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 20 | – |
| Nov 9 | vs. | W 36–17 | 3 | 58 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| Nov 16 | at | W 45–0 | 4 | 90 | 1 | 34 | – |
| Nov 23 | vs. | W 28–0 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Dec 31 ✦ | vs. | L 30–37 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 22 | – |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2022 | Combine or pro day 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′4″ | |
| Weight | 249 lb | |
| Arm length | 32⅞″ | |
| Hand size | 9¾″ | |
| Wingspan | 77¾″W | |
| Bench press | 18 repsW |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
3 seasons, 12 games with a stat; latest team: Dallas Cowboys.
| Season | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Detroit Lions | 8 | 11 | 113 | 1 |
| 2023 | Detroit Lions | 2 | 2 | 28 | 0 |
| 2025 | Carolina Panthers | 2 | 3 | 28 | 0 |
| NFL career | 12 | 16 | 169 | 1 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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