Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Jakobi Meyers out, JuJu Smith-Schuster in as Patriots revamp offense

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 3/15/23

While losing leading receiver Jakobi Meyers to the Las Vegas Raiders was presumably not how the New England Patriots wanted to begin free agency, they made up for it 24 hours later.

The Patriots are signing former Pro Bowl receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $33 million deal, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It’ll mark his third team in three years.

Despite Meyers leading New England in receiving each of the last three seasons, Smith-Schuster should be considered a slight upgrade over the N.C. State alum. Smith-Schuster outperformed Myers in 2022, topping him in receptions (78 to 67), yards (933 to 804), yards after the catch (465 to 236), yards per target (9.2 to 8.4) and receptions of 40 or more yards (four to one).

Smith-Schuster also has three seasons of 900 or more receiving yards and two seasons with 90 or more receptions while Meyers has none of each.

Jakobi Meyers and JuJu Smith-Schuster have similar games, but Smith-Schuster provides much more YAC ability

Meyers wasn't able to consistently turn schemed touches or underneath/wide-open receptions into bigger gains, which made him a less-than-ideal fit for NE's Z/slot role pic.twitter.com/iJTgE85Nk8
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) March 15, 2023

The Patriots return just three wideouts from last year’s team — DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton — and Smith-Schuster’s addition likely opens up the playbook a bit more for quarterback Mac Jones and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

Smith-Schuster’s signing, however, doesn’t exclude New England from potentially drafting a receiver with the No. 14 overall pick in April’s draft. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. projects the Pats to take Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in his latest mock draft.

“The Patriots have a new offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien and could look completely different on that side of the ball in 2023,” Kiper Jr. said. “That's a good thing, because quarterback Mac Jones regressed last season. He'd benefit greatly from Smith-Njigba, a true No. 1 wideout who knows how to get open. He led Ohio State in catches (95) and yards (1,606) in 2021. Assuming his medicals check out and his hamstring won't be an issue, he'll be my top-ranked wideout in this class.”

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