Patriots Chose Juju Smith-Schuster Over Jakobi Meyers
With the Patriots signing their air apparent replacement for Jakobi Meyers in Juju Smith-Schuster, on the surface this would seem to be an upgrade. Yes, Juju Smith-Schuster (JSS) is a flashier name, but is his value worth more than Jakobi Meyers?
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster to sign with Patriots. (via @TaylorBisciotti, @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/7nSo66dGpP
— NFL (@NFL) March 15, 2023
Sample Size Meyer’s vs. Smith-Schuster
Looking at a sample size of last season both Meyers and Smith-Schuster have similar seasons. Meyers had 93 targets to Smith-Schuster’s 97 targets. Meyers had 67 catches to Juju’s 78 with Meyers doubling in touchdowns with six compared to three for JSS.
Receiving yards was close between the two as well with Meyers having 804 yards in 14 games as JSS had 933 yards in 16 games, both of these yardage totals were good for second-best in each other’s season career highs.
The difference last season was Juju Smith-Schuster had Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball compared to Meyers having a banged-up Mac Jones and a rookie Bailey Zappe throwing to him. Although Meyers was targeted on 19% of passing plays for the Patriots, JSS had to compete with much more skilled players in Kansas City.
Insane toe-tap touchdown by Jakobi Meyers, wow. @nateburleson approves. pic.twitter.com/u6HqYgLIvM
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 8, 2023
The clear difference between the two is Juju lines up almost twice as much as Meyers outside the numbers and similar numbers in the slot. So outside of this, there was really no difference statistically last year.
Jakobi Meyers throughout his career has averaged four catches and 46 yards a game. Meyers’s longest career reception is 48 yards, which he accomplished this past season. Juju Smith-Schuster has averaged 60 yards a game on six catches.
The Difference Between the Two
The massive difference between the two is that JSS has played with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks while Meyers has had a broken-down Cam Newton and a young Mac Jones who clearly was set back last year from his coaching. Smith-Schuster has never had to be the true number-one receiver on his team. He played with Antonio Brown in his prime and when Brown left Pittsburg you saw JSS’s production drop off massively. Last year JSS has Patrick Mahomes, the NFL MVP, throwing to him with arguably the greatest tight end ever lining up with him in every snap.
Does JuJu Smith-Schuster make the Patriots better?@tomecurran and @PhilAPerry compare him to Jakobi Meyers, and the impact he could have on the Patriots pic.twitter.com/lb45tkxwA5
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) March 15, 2023
The best three seasons JSS has had in his six-year career he has had a true number one receiver, or tight end, lining up with him. He is very good at being able to exploit single coverage but when he is the primary target for an offense he has struggled.
On the other side, Meyers has had better production and more consistency over the past four seasons. Meyers was able to do so with, as mentioned before, a broken-down Cam Newton and a young quarterback still trying to find his way in the league. Meyer’s consistency was something that was always able to be relied upon but he never was a player who had breakaway speed.
JSS is a player who can be a game-breaker. He has two career touchdowns for 97 yards but also has the ability to make defenders miss on his own. Meyers relied on the scheme to have big plays where JSS can create his own after the catch. So, on the surface, Juju Smith-Schuster is a more dynamic player although he has had better players around him to help.
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
Regardless of what has happened in the past, both players received the same contracts. Meyers was looked at as expendable by the Patriots and Juju Smith-Schuster was looked at as expendable by the Chiefs. It will be interesting to see how Juju will perform as a Patriot but the Patriots at the moment, in my opinion, are worse after losing their number-one receiver.
For More Great Football Content
Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
