Kansas City Chiefs Newcomer JuJu Smith-Schuster Has Impressed Early In Camp

In his very first Kansas City Chiefs training camp, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has demonstrated a connection with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“There’s a trust there,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “It was good work.”

Smith-Schuster was one of several receivers to spend the offseason running routes for Mahomes in the Dallas area, and the extra repetitions have seemed to help.

Two of the highlights from the first week of training camp came as Smith-Schuster was on the receiving end of Mahomes passes, including a diving catch — that drew oohs and aahs from the crowd and caused tight end Travis Kelce to swing his arm in celebration — and hauling in a deep pass despite tight coverage by rookie cornerback Joshua Williams.

This bodes well not only for the Chiefs, who are trying to replace the 159 targets that went toward Tyreek Hill last year before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins, but also Smith-Schuster.

Smith-Schuster signed his one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Chiefs before the Hill trade and is in a contract year.

Even with a reported $7.5 million in incentives, that’s at best a nominal increase — and perhaps a pay cut — from the one-year, $8 million deal Smith-Schuster signed to re-up with the Pittsburgh Steelers the year before.

“I was hurt last year, didn’t play a lot of ball,” Smith-Schuster said. “And coming to this team, I’m just going to let my play write the story.”

The narrative on Smith-Schuster is still in the early chapters.

He’s only 25 and recorded 917 and 1,426 receiving yards, respectively, in his first two seasons. The future looked bright for the player who was the youngest in the 2017 NFL Draft, but injuries — particularly a dislocated shoulder suffered in Week Five last season — slowed two of his last three years.

To his credit, he recovered in time last year to play the opening-round playoff game against the Chiefs and caught five passes for 26 yards against Kansas City.

In Kansas City, Smith-Schuster expects to have a more versatile role than he did with Pittsburgh. The Steelers used the 6-1, 215-pound target as more of a possession receiver than a downfield threat.

“This offense, oh my gosh … being able to play inside, outside,” Smith-Schuster said, “it’s so nice.”

Smith-Schuster said moving the receivers all over the field will help all of them and help prevent double-team coverage.

The hope is that having more receiving depth, including free-agent acquisition Marquez Valdes-Scantling and impressive rookie Skyy Moore, will give the offense more diversity and make it less reliant on a No. 1 wide receiver (Hill) than it was last year.

“Anyone can get the ball at any time,” Valdes-Scantling said. “It’s really fun.”

With Mahomes’ astounding arm strength, ability to deliver the ball from multiple arm angles and his deft skill to scramble out of the pocket, any receiver is a possible target — no matter where he is on the field.

“Always be ready,” Smith-Schuster said, “always be open.”

So far Smith-Schuster has been both, but it’s very early in training camp. Practices with full pads don’t even start until Monday, Aug. 1.

Sessions will become more intense — as will the heat in St. Joseph, Mo., something Smith-Schuster, the Southern California native, already has lamented.

But his performance represents an encouraging start.

“Today,” Smith-Schuster said on July 27, “was just the first taste of what I have to show.”