The drumbeat of DeAndre Hopkins potentially signing with the Patriots seems to be increasing. There's a story saying how he gets along fine with former Texans coach (and current New England OC) Bill O'Brien. And there's concern that presumed No. 1 JuJu Smith-Schuster may not be healthy.
Smith-Schuster didn't participate in the Patriots' mandatory minicamp this week; he's apparently dealing with a lingering knee injury that bothered him most of last year. And when you consider the fast start to his career -- Smith-Schuster caught 111 passes for 1,426 yards and 7 touchdowns in his second season -- it's been weird how quiet his market has been the last few offseasons. In 2021 he signed a one-year deal to remain in Pittsburgh, and last year he signed a one-year deal with Kansas City.
He rehabilitated his value enough in that stint working with Patrick Mahomes to land a three-year, $25.5 million deal with the Patriots, but it's fair to wonder if he'll prove worth it. He hasn't been great since that 2018 season.
Over the last two seasons, with Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Smith-Schuster has played in 21 games. He's had double-digit PPR points in just over a third of those (eight), and under 7 in more than half (11). That's despite being the No. 1 wideout for Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes for those contests. In the table, games with double-digit points are in bold.
| SMITH-SCHUSTER GAME LOG, 2021-2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tm | Opp | No | Rec | TD | PPR |
| 2021 | PIT | at Buff. | 4 | 52 | 0 | 9.2 |
| 2021 | PIT | L.V. | 6 | 41 | 1 | 16.1 |
| 2021 | PIT | Cin. | 3 | 25 | 0 | 5.5 |
| 2021 | PIT | at G.B. | 2 | 11 | 0 | 3.1 |
| 2021 | PIT | Den. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | KAN | at Ariz. | 6 | 79 | 0 | 13.9 |
| 2022 | KAN | LAC | 3 | 10 | 0 | 4.0 |
| 2022 | KAN | at Ind. | 5 | 89 | 0 | 13.9 |
| 2022 | KAN | at T.B. | 5 | 46 | 0 | 9.6 |
| 2022 | KAN | L.V. | 3 | 33 | 0 | 6.3 |
| 2022 | KAN | Buff. | 5 | 113 | 1 | 22.3 |
| 2022 | KAN | at S.F. | 7 | 124 | 1 | 25.4 |
| 2022 | KAN | Tenn. | 10 | 88 | 0 | 18.8 |
| 2022 | KAN | Jax. | 2 | 33 | 0 | 5.3 |
| 2022 | KAN | LAR | 3 | 38 | 0 | 6.8 |
| 2022 | KAN | at Cin. | 3 | 35 | 0 | 6.5 |
| 2022 | KAN | at Den. | 9 | 74 | 1 | 22.4 |
| 2022 | KAN | at Hou. | 10 | 88 | 0 | 18.8 |
| 2022 | KAN | Sea. | 3 | 27 | 0 | 5.7 |
| 2022 | KAN | Den. | 2 | 21 | 0 | 4.1 |
| 2022 | KAN | at L.V. | 2 | 35 | 0 | 5.5 |
It's June, so maybe Smith-Schuster not being healthy now is no big deal. But he doesn't look like a particularly safe pick -- and if the Patriots do sign Hopkins, he'll look especially unlikely to pay off on a fantasy roster.
--Andy Richardson