JuJu Smith-Schuster: Mac Jones, Patriots offense can thrive

JuJu Smith-Schuster is among the new faces aiming to get the New England Patriots back on track, and the veteran wide receiver feels that goal is achievable.

Smith-Schuster explained to reporters on Tuesday how New England’s offense is multidimensional and more dynamic than he originally believed it to be.

“Most definitely, most definitely. We definitely have enough,” Smith-Schuster said of the Patriots offense. “We’ve got guys who can run down the field. We’ve got guys that can do a lot of different things. What’s crazy about this offense that I didn’t know about until I got here was that there’s guys that play both ways. There’s guys that can play receiver, that can play in the backfield, and seeing that you can have so many different weapons with these players, it just gives Mac [Jones] these opportunities to do whatever he wants.”

New England signed Smith-Schuster, who reeled in 78 receptions for 933 yards and three touchdowns with the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs last season, to a three-year, $25.5 million deal. The Patriots also added former Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki to a one-year deal this offseason. In the draft, they selected wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas in Round 6, though they lost leading receiver Jakobi Meyers to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.

A year after having former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia serve as the de facto offensive play-caller — or whatever one chooses to call his role — the Patriots turned to an old friend to be the team’s offensive coordinator in now-former Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien (O’Brien was on head coach Bill Belichick’s coaching staff in various roles from 2007-11 including as offensive coordinator in 2011).

The aforementioned individuals join a Patriots offense that was middle of the pack in 2022 and saw Jones underwhelm after an encouraging rookie season. New England averaged just 208.0 passing yards (20th in NFL), 106.6 rushing yards (24th), 314.6 total yards (26th) and 21.4 points per game (17th) last season.

Meanwhile, Jones posted an 84.8 passer rating while completing 65.2% of his passes. For perspective, Jones posted a 92.5 passer rating while completing 67.6% of his passes in 2021.

Smith-Schuster, though, sees a bright future for the team’s 2021 first-round draft selection, specifically because of the pieces that the Patriots have put around him.

“For Mac, though, the sky is the limit,” Smith-Schuster said. “With the guys that we have here and all the weapons, it’s gonna be a fun year.”

The Patriots are coming off an 8-9 season, which saw them miss the playoffs for the second time in three years. They also haven’t won a playoff game since 2018, when they beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

New England’s quest to get back in contention comes at a time when the AFC East is as stacked as ever. The Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East the last three seasons, as well as six of their last seven games against the Patriots — including a 47-17 drubbing in the 2021 playoffs — while the Dolphins have won nine-plus games in each of the last three seasons. To boot, the New York Jets acquired future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers in April and won seven games last season, a three-game jump from the year prior.

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