This season has not gone at all as New England Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster or the fantasy football managers who drafted him would have hoped for. He was meant to be the Jakobi Meyers replacement but has been a massive letdown.
Nevertheless, Smith-Schuster did show signs of life in Week 9 and might be a playable option going forward. Let’s dive into whether Smith-Schuster is a waiver option going forward.
Should JuJu Smith-Schuster Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 10?
It’s been a rough year to have drafted Smith-Schuster, but he was given opportunities in the first few weeks. The first two weeks of the year, he posted 13 total targets, catching nine passes for just 61 scoreless yards. Smith-Schuster played quite a bit in games up until his concussion but then was sent to the bench until this week.
Week 9 saw a strong return for Smith-Schuster, which isn’t a big surprise since the Patriots had injuries piling up at wide receiver. With Kendrick Bourne done for the year, it appears Smith-Schuster took on at least some of that role.
One concern, and is something to monitor going forward, is the playing time. Jalen Reagor and Demario Douglas both played over twice as many snaps, but that’s possibly going to change with how Smith-Schuster was targeted. New England lacks playmakers, and Smith-Schuster clearly has some level of rapport with Mac Jones, so he likely plays more going forward.
In Week 9, Smith-Schuster saw a season-high seven targets on just 23 routes. This resulted in six catches for 51 yards. In his Week 8 return, he scored his first touchdown as a Patriot. Even with the late drop that led to the game-sealing interception, Smith-Schuster has to stay in games since the other options had similar issues.
MORE: Early Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups
The reason the Patriots will likely stick with him going forward is to give Jones a reliable target. The season is likely now just about his evaluation long term and whether New England decides to draft a QB in the upcoming class. Any player Jones shows this level of trust in needs to continue to play and will be involved.
The thing fantasy managers need to know is that this is a bye week or Flex-type option only. If you don’t need a starter in the next couple of weeks, then Smith-Schuster is not worth burning any FAAB or waiver priority on. Even this week, he’s not a top-24 WR, and this was his first time within the top 50 overall at the position.
Even with an urgent need for a bye week or injury fill-in, Smith-Schuster is not a high-priority addition. In a standard-sized league, finding a WR to score 10 fantasy points isn’t the biggest challenge. Players like Kyle Philips, Khalil Shakir, Trey Palmer, and Jamison Crowder can all give you something close to that.
That also doesn’t account for the upcoming Patriots schedule, where they play the Colts in Germany and then go on a bye. Indianapolis is one of the best matchups for running backs, so this could easily be a game where the Pats lean on their RB tandem and minimize the passing game.
Smith-Schuster is probably best left on waivers. You can find a better option elsewhere.
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