Through the first three games of his Patriots career, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has just 10 catches for 66 yards on 16 targets.
In comparison Jakobi Meyers, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason when New England let him test free agency, has 16 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 22 targets. For further context, he also missed week two with a concussion.
The Patriots signed Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $33 million contract as their replacement for Meyers, though he's been far from that. Here are their per-game averages so far this season:
Smith-Schuster: 5.33 targets, 3.33 catches, 22 yards
Meyers: 11 targets, 8 catches, 83 yards one touchdown
Woof.
Despite the jarring difference, quarterback Mac Jones doesn’t seem too worried about the pass catcher's lack of production:
“JuJu’s great,” he told WEEI’s Jones and Mego on Monday. “Definitely want to get him be ball more and we’ve worked really hard in practice. It’ll happen.”
jones and mego: mac jones talks Juju
Patriots' wide receivers coach Troy Brown was also asked about Smith-Schuster's time with the team so far on Tuesday:
“He’s been fine. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” Brown said. “That’s where we are on JuJu. He’s going out there, he’s competing, he’s trying, he’s trying to get blocks, trying to get open, trying to catch the ball, doing all the things we ask him to do.”
He was later asked about his chemistry with Mac Jones:
“They’re going. That’s a part of it. JuJu wasn’t here [for the Spring] so we had some catching up to do. He and Mac are still growing.”
Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, too, was asked about the chemistry between Jones and Smith-Schuster on Tuesday - specifically their miscommunication on several plays during the club's win versus the Jets:
“In those instances, we work hard on those throws during practice,” O’Brien explained. “Sometimes, early in the season, it’s really hard to simulate that in practice. It comes from a lot of repetition. It’s not any excuse at all. We need to do a better job of practicing those, making sure that we hit those in practice, and then getting it done in the game. We were close, but close isn’t good enough.”
Moral of the story? While it sounds like they aren’t necessarily worried about Smith-Schuster, it's clear that he and Mac are still trying to work towards a rapport, something the quarterback had already built with Meyers. The two connected on 139 passes for 1,499 yards and seven touchdowns during the receiver's time in Foxborough.
Fair or not, Smith-Schuster’s production as a Patriot will always be compared to Meyers’ as a Raider. Surely it's still too early to sound the panic button, but the fact that New England had better production in-house for similar money isn’t going to sit well with fans or, frankly, team owner Robert Kraft. You have to wonder if at some point heads will roll should JuJu’s production not start to ramp up over the next several weeks.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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