The connection between quarterback and receiver is one of the most important in football, and for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, the pair are on a good wavelength,
With Smith-Schuster a member of the 2022 Super Bowl-winning Chiefs, he then made the move to the New England Patriots for the 2023 season. But he found his way back to Kansas City and is now a key part of the offense.
While Juju had a slow start to the season, in the absence of Rashee Rice, who is out for the year with a PCL injury, Smith-Schuster stepped up in the 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints with seven catches for 130 yards.
But how could Juju have such a game so early in his return to the team? Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy knows why.
“His experience in the league,” Nagy said. “His experience within this offense, his experience with Pat [Mahomes] there’s a trust factor there. I knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight or right away, and you don’t know how many more of those will happen, but when you have a guy that is able to get in the right spots, and you build that trust with the quarterback, and Juju has that. He’s been to the highest level with us and has had success. It’s just a matter of okay let’s get him in, let’s see what he does well, let’s fit that with what we do, let’s do what he does well in our offense and let it roll.”
With Mahomes and Smith-Schuster’s chemistry still at a high level despite the pair not playing together in 2023, learning the playbook is a little easier, given that Juju knows Patrick’s tendencies and how he likes routes run, among other things.
Given that the injury bug has bitten the Chiefs’ offense rather hard in the first five weeks, that chemistry will be needed moving forward, given that Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy are the only other weapons that “scare” defenses.
So, much like he did against New Orleans, Smith-Schuster must continue to be a viable option in the passing game, with the “trust” he and Patrick share, perhaps being the driving force in the Chiefs maintaining their undefeated streak,