The New England Patriots didn't showcase their biggest offseason acquisition much in their season opener.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, who signed a three-year, $25.5 million contract with the team over the offseason, played just more than half (43 of 80) of the offensive snaps in the Patriots' 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. While there have been injury concerns surrounding his knee in the leadup to the season, Smith-Schuster's relatively low number of snaps on Sunday was more of a situational and schematic issue, according to The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed.
“The reasoning behind it, according to a source, is largely because Smith-Schuster doesn’t play the X-receiver role that was left vacant when DeVante Parker (knee) was ruled inactive,” Kyed wrote.
JuJu Smith-Schuster's low Week 1 snap count
An X-receiver is the one that typically lines up the furthest away from the center, playing out wide to help space the field. That's never really been Smith-Schuster's game as he's primarily been a slot receiver over a seven-year NFL career. He's also played a bit of the Z-receiver role, which is a receiver that's lined up a bit more outside than a slot but isn't placed along the line of scrimmage like an X-receiver. So, he has more cushion to get separation as a Z-receiver and Smith-Schuster has never really been known to break coverage with his speed at the line of scrimmage.
Parker, meanwhile, has primarily been a Z-receiver for much of his NFL career. His contested catch ability makes him a strong-suited player for the further-most outside receiver spot. Ideally, the Patriots would start Parker at the X-receiver spot with Smith-Schuster or Bourne in the slot and the other of the two playing in the Z-receiver role.
But with Demario “Pop” Douglas entering the mix as a sixth-round rookie plus the Patriots using two tight end sets with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki, New England had fewer snaps to give Smith-Schuster on Sunday, according to Kyed.
“The Patriots went with a heavier rotation at wide receiver, in part, because it was Week 1 but primarily because they don’t feel like they have the type of wide receivers who can play nearly 100% of snaps in the same mold as Eagles wide receivers Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown, per a source,” Kyed wrote.
Kayshon Boutte was the player that mostly filled in for Parker in the Z-receiver spot on Sunday. He played 55 of the Patriots' offensive snaps, with 54 of them being on the outside, according to Pro Football Focus. The sixth-round rookie struggled in his NFL debut though, failing to record a reception on four targets, including one in which he didn't get a second foot down on a fourth-down catch that would've extended the game.
As for Smith-Schuster, he had four receptions for 33 yards on Sunday. There were rumors that Smith-Schuster's knee is “a mess” after dealing with injuries to it in the last couple of seasons. He reportedly didn't participate in offseason workouts to help load manage his injury situation.
Could another Patriots trade happen this week? @AlbertBreer & @GregABedard join Felger to discuss pic.twitter.com/GPk0N8D4LW
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) August 28, 2023
Smith-Schuster denied that was the case though.
“I don’t think my knee is a ticking time bomb,” Smith-Schuster told MassLive's Karen Guregian in August. “If anything, it’s something that’s getting stronger every day.”
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