Former Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is shining at Chiefs camp

JuJu Smith-Schuster signed a contract with the Chiefs this offseason and he’s already turning heads. Did the Pittsburgh Steelers make a mistake?

To the dismay of many fans, the Pittsburgh Steelers let JuJu Smith-Schuster walk away during the 2022 offseason. After landing in IR for the majority of the 2021 season and not playing very well during his first five games, this was a decision that was relatively easy to see coming.

For the sake of revitalizing his NFL career, JuJu made the decision to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs. Now paired with a young former MVP quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and potentially being one of the top players in line for targets with Tyreek Hill shipped to Miami, Smith-Schuster could be in line for a comeback season.

It appears as if that rise has already begun. While we are still very early into NFL training camps, the Chiefs have been very impressed with what JuJu has brought to the table so far. During his first training camp practice with Kansas City, JuJu has already got the crowd roaring with some impressive catches down the field. KC Sports Network captured a few of them:

These types of plays have a large group of Steelers fans upset that Pittsburgh was willing to let him walk so easily. Despite a heavily inflated wide receiver market that saw players like Christian Kirk earning $18 million annually, the Chiefs were able to sign JuJu to a one-year, 3.25 million contract during the 2022 offseason, via Over the Cap — an offer many believe the Steelers should have topped.

Steelers didn’t make a mistake with JuJu

It’s important not to put too much stock into a single training camp practice. Now that he has fully recovered from his shoulder injury and his knees have had some time to rest, nobody should be surprised to see a player like JuJu Smith-Schuster look very good in a Chiefs uniform.

Smith-Schuster is entering his 6th NFL season and is no stranger to the spotlight. However, the clock had ticked on JuJu in Pittsburgh. Over the past two seasons, the veteran receiver averaged just 8.6 yards per reception and his 4.6 yards per target last year was worse than most running backs in the passing game.

While I fully expect JuJu to look like a much better player on the Chiefs in an offense that opens things up much more, he simply wasn’t very valuable for how the Steelers used him, and I really don’t think that would have changed a whole lot with a new quarterback at the helm.

JuJu is what he is — a physical slot receiver who can catch in traffic and do some run-after-the-catch work. However, he doesn’t excel at route-running, creating separation, or winning on the outside. It was because of these traits that his market completely fell through in free agency.

In the long run, I think it was a better idea to invest in much more athletic receivers (like George Pickens and Calvin Austin) who are capable of elevating the offensive ceiling of this team moving forward. If you’re still a big JuJu fan, be happy that he landed on a team that intends to use him. I think it was the right decision for both parties.