ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KCTV) – The Chiefs’ receiver room has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL this season. The guys are fast, and talented, but many of them are on the younger side.
That created the need for a veteran leader to step up, and JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t hesitate. No one on the coaching staff has been shy in their praise for the wide receiver.
“I’ll bring up a guy that right now – I don’t wanna take for granted, is JuJu Smith-Schuster,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said after practice in the first week of training camp. “Unbelievable right now with what he’s doing as far as a leader in that room. Watching guys out here in walk throughs. He’s taking these young guys out here and using his experience, and giving his knowledge to them. And it’s exciting, because he’s a great player.”
His name has been the only name used to answer the question of leadership in the receiver room this summer in St. Joe.
“Yeah JuJu is the leader in there,” head coach Andy Reid said in week two.
Smith-Schuster spent the 2022 season in Kansas City, totaling 933 yards and three touchdowns on 78 receptions, en route to helping the Chiefs win a Super Bowl. He spent 2023 in New England, but returned to Kansas City in 2024.
Last year he totaled 231 yards and two touchdowns on 18 receptions. Though it wasn’t his biggest year stat-wise with the Chiefs, clearly there was a reason they re-signed him.
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“We got a bunch of young guys in the room, different ages. For me, it’s a big responsibility,” he said after practice in week two. “I think I lead by, not just by my words, but by my actions.”
What helps the vet be such a great leader is remembering what he needed when he was a rookie in Pittsburgh.
“You’re learning how to take care of your body, learning how to study your playbook. For me I kinda took that when I first started in the league, cause it’s a lot different,” he said. “College is, you know the hashes are much bigger, the alignment’s a lot different.”
Totaling a high amount of yards, receptions, or touchdowns this season is certainly the goal – as it is for any receiver in the NFL.
But what Smith-Schuster brings off the field just might be way important than his stats.
“I’m the guy that’s you know, I’m not always serious. I like to have fun, have a good time, make the environment very comfortable for them to come talk to me about anything, and vice versa, right? Ask how their family’s doing, how are they doing today? I know every single day we show up and it’s about football, but I think it’s also very important to ask about their personal life and how they’re doing,” he said about his leadership style.
