New England Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Why this Patriots receiver is failing

By Pierce Downey | Last updated 9/24/23

In March, the New England Patriots (1-2) signed WR JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three year, $33 million deal. Smith-Schuster was brought on to be an explosive weapon and the number one option for third-year QB Mac Jones, who was struggling to succeed with the limited receiving options around him.

Fast forward three weeks into the 2023-24 NFL season and Smith-Schuster's performance has been far from ideal. Across all games, the former Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs receiver has recorded just nine receptions for 61 yards. In Smith-Schuster's most recent performance against the New York Jets, he collected just five yards on a single reception.

The Patriots have been throwing the ball plenty, which makes Smith-Schuster's early-season showing all the more troubling. Entering Week 3, Jones was on pace to break the single-season pass attempt record.

JuJu Smith-Schuster doing his best Kadarius Toney impersonation with this drop pic.twitter.com/5nauPzoylh
— Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL) September 10, 2023

Smith-Schuster's failure with the Patriots could be due to a number of reasons.

One plausible explanation is that expectations were too high to begin with for Smith-Schuster and he has simply declined since his dominant days with the Steelers.

In 2018 with Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster recorded over 1,400 receiving yards. Since then, he has not exceeded the 1,000-yard mark in a season. The closest Smith-Schuster came to 1,000 yards since then was during the 2022 season, when he collected 933 receiving yards with all-time talent Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback.

It is also possible that the Patriots are struggling to incorporate Smith-Schuster into their passing schemes. In 2023 under new OC Bill O'Brien, the Patriots have appeared as a screen-heavy, quick-throw offense. Smith-Schuster is not particularly fast off of his break and lacks raw speed, which makes it difficult to incorporate him into the screen and short route aspect of the offense.

One observation from last night’s game was Bill O’Brien’s hesitancy to switch up play calling despite a change in personnel. Here’s an example:

After Demario Douglas was benched post-fumble, JuJu Smith-Schuster took over the majority of reps as the slot receiver for the… pic.twitter.com/xt1C5nrNLn
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) September 18, 2023

Earlier in the month, there was speculation that a knee injury was holding Smith-Schuster back from his full potential. Surprisingly, Smith-Schuster himself shut down those rumors and explained that he was fully healthy.

"[My knee] is 100%," he said.

JuJu Smith-Schuster says his knee is 100 percent, and he wasn't frustrated by sitting out the final drive against the Eagles.@ABC6 #ForeverNE #NEvsPHI pic.twitter.com/0aP4RcXV1S
— Ian Steele (@IanSteeleABC6) September 15, 2023

Smith-Schuster's next chance to prove himself will be on Sunday, October 1st against the Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 P.M. EST.

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