The Kansas City Chiefs have a new receiver in the building, with JuJu Smith-Schuster formally signing his new deal with the team on Sunday.
The signing has been met with a lot of praise because it gives Patrick Mahomes a consistent third option that he seemingly lacked during the 2021 NFL season. But how exactly does Smith-Schuster fit in with the group of players that the team already has and what are some of the new things that he’ll bring to the table in Kansas City?
Asked how he envisioned his fit with the team, Smith-Schuster explained that he’s a different flavor compared to the type of players the Chiefs already have. He considers himself closer to Travis Kelce than to players like Mecole Hardman and Tyreek Hill.
“I’m a different type of guy, I’m a little bit more built,” Smith-Schuster told reporters. “You’ve got Tyreek and Mecole, speedster guys who can run down the field. I’m the type of guy, great hands, a little bit like Travis, great hands, big dude that can run and block, physical blocking in the run game. There’s so much I can do to help this team.”
The physicality is noted and something that clearly interested Brett Veach and Andy Reid from the jump. He’s known as a strong blocker, but he also plays well through contact. Hands will definitely be an underrated part of what Smith-Schuster brings to Kansas City, though.
In his 25 targets last season, Smith-Schuster didn’t drop a single pass. If you go back to 2020, when he played a full 16-game season, it took nine games and 128 targets before Smith-Schuster dropped a single pass. Had he been on the team that year, he would have been second on the team in dropped pass percentage behind only Kelce. Given the frequency of drops from guys like Byron Pringle, Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman, that’ll be a noticeable difference for a team that struggled to extend drives at times in 2021.
If you look at the types of routes Smith-Schuster has excelled at during his career, it’s the short-to-intermediate route combinations. That’s another area where the Chiefs really didn’t find a lot of success in 2021. He’s going to be working across the middle of the field against zone coverage with slants, flats, crossers, curls and out routes. He also has the physicality to be successful in Andy Reid’s quick screen game, both as a blocker and a receiver.
Think JuJu has weirdly gone from one of the more overrated WRs in the game to one of the most underrated slot guys. Has been one of the best zone-beating WRs in #ReceptionPerception and thrives as an underneath chain-mover. KC needs that.
Full RP profile:https://t.co/TMso7mixLW pic.twitter.com/Df5lAl6jk4
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) March 18, 2022
Smith-Schuster will also give the Chiefs a bigger player that they can use out of the slot. Traditionally, the NFL has used smaller and shifter players out of the slot, but in recent years with the evolution of the tight end position, it’s not uncommon to see teams using bigger slot receivers.
We’ve preached being “team big slot” here at Chiefs Wire, and that sounds like something Kansas City might have in mind for Smith-Schuster. He has the size to box out smaller slot corners on quick, chain-moving routes. Speaking of chain-moving, Smith-Schuster finished 17th in the NFL in first down conversions back in 2020. His 55 first downs would’ve ranked third on the team behind Hill and Kelce.
In the past two years alone, over 80% of Smith-Schuster’s snaps have come from the slot per Pro Football Focus. If you look at success in the slot since he joined the NFL in 2017, you’ll find that he ranks among the best in the league.
The #Chiefs are getting a top-10 slot receiver in JuJu Smith-Schuster
JuJu's ranks amongst slot receivers since 2017 (since he entered the league):
Receptions — 204 (9th in #NFL)
Rec. yards — 2,478 (9th)
Rec. TD — 19 (t-5th)JuJu played just 5 games last year. pic.twitter.com/3DuCCoOCyF
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) March 21, 2022
In the end, Smith-Schuster will bring a lot to the offense that they lacked in 2021. He feels that he’s a perfect complement to what the team already has at the position and will enhance what already makes the offense so great. He also sees himself helping the team reach their ultimate goal, which is to win football games.
“You come into a team where they’ve got guys who can stretch the field, guys that have been here doing it for quite some time now,” Smith-Schuster said. “For me, I made the decision to come here to win. I’m all about winning. I’m all about what I can do to help the team and produce. This year you’ll see that. You’ll see that. Obviously, they have Tyreek (Hill), Travis (Kelce) and Mecole (Hardman) and all those guys, they’ll still make their plays. And the plays that I do get, I’ll want to make them too. Like I said, I’m here to win.”
