New England Patriots Bought Into JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Trajectory At The Right Time

JuJu Smith-Schuster made the most of his contract with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. The Super Bowl LVII champion now has the opportunity to do the same with the New England Patriots.

The floor and ceiling proved to be higher for the wide receiver during this cycle of NFL free agency. Even so, his reported three-year, $33 million deal proved to be a three-year, $25.5 million base structure with $16 million guaranteed and an additional $7.5 million tied to yardage incentives.

It proved to be what New England was looking for after reliable top target Jakobi Meyers left for the Las Vegas Raiders on a three-year agreement also worth $33 million at initial glance, yet ultimately with $10.5 million fully guaranteed.

While both turn 27 next November, Smith-Schuster entered the league out of USC two years before the undrafted signing out of North Carolina State. The 2017 second-round pick was named to the Pro Bowl the following campaign, when he caught 111 passes for 1,426 yards and matched his seven touchdowns scored as a rookie. A 97-yarder was again among them.

“Yeah, he’s a dynamic player, tremendous player,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of Smith-Schuster during a December 2018 press conference. “Great with the ball in his hands, great hands, makes some spectacular catches, hard to tackle, so he’s very good.”

That sophomore season marked the height of his stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As the No. 1 option in 2019, a dozen starts gave way to 46 yards per game. And after rebounding with nine touchdowns through 97 catches in 2020, a shoulder injury limited Smith-Schuster to five appearances in his final run with the organization that drafted him.

In Kansas City, alongside NFL and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, he rebounded again with 78 receptions for 933 yards and three trips to end zone.

Smith-Schuster averaged 6.1 yards after the catch per reception over that span, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, while his +141 yards after the catch over expected ranked fifth among all wideouts. Only the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel, Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and Miami Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle ranked ahead.

That was an area where the Patriots took a step forward. From both the slot and the outside, Smith-Schuster offers that step in a different dimension at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. He offers the physicality to clash and create downhill from close to intermediate range for quarterback Mac Jones.

DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Tre Nixon and Lynn Bowden Jr. join Smith-Schuster on the current depth chart. Receiver reinforcements could also arrive in next month’s draft class.

For the part he projects to play in new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s plans, though, Smith-Schuster arrived at a rate to accommodate.

There is up to $1 million in per-game roster bonuses each year in his contract. And while there is $16 million in total guarantees through two years, including a $7.9 million signing bonus, no guaranteed base salary remains for the final year. Per OverTheCap.com, Smith-Schuster’s cap charge stands at $4.674 million for 2023, $10.633 million for 2024 and $10.133 million for 2025.

But the deal he reached last March paid incentive-laden dividends on the way to February. The Patriots bought into that trajectory continuing.