Patrick Mahomes Compares JuJu Smith-Schuster's Feel for Chiefs' Plays to Travis Kelce

As the Kansas City Chiefs search for a No. 1 receiver in the wake of Rashee Rice's knee injury, JuJu Smith-Schuster looked the part for at least one night with seven catches for 130 yards in Monday's 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Patrick Mahomes compared the way Smith-Schuster operates within the Chiefs' scheme to Travis Kelce.

"Trav is kind of one of a kind, but [Smith-Schuster] has a good feel for the entire concept of the play and so he knows how to get into the open spots," Mahomes said. "He did a good job today of beating man when they played man and finding windows [in zone] to get big catches."

One of the things that has made the Mahomes-Kelce pairing so successful is the way the star tight end has a knack for finding his way into the soft spot of zone defenses to give Mahomes an outlet if nothing else is open.

Smith-Schuster's comfort with the Chiefs isn't surprising since he is in his second stint with the club. He won a Super Bowl with them during the 2022 campaign, recording 78 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.

The Chiefs let Smith-Schuster leave as a free agent after that season. He wound up signing a three-year, $33 million deal with the New England Patriots in March 2023. Things didn't work out for him or the offense last season. He had just 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games.

New England wound up releasing Smith-Schuster during the preseason. He returned to the Chiefs on Aug. 26 by signing a one-year deal. The move was to provide depth at receiver and give Mahomes a player he had some familiarity with going into the season.

It was a slow start to the season for Smith-Schuster, who played just 25 snaps in the first two games combined. He began to see more playing time in Week 3 and had his heaviest workload on Monday night.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Rice is expected to miss the rest of the season with an LCL injury suffered in a Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rice was on his way to filling that Kelce role of filling that void in the soft zone this season. He led the team in receptions (24) and receiving yards (288) at the time of his injury.

While the Chiefs continue to wait for first-round rookie Xavier Worthy to round out his skill set, Smith-Schuster figures to get a lot of looks from Mahomes going forward.

The early returns are very promising, as Smith-Schuster had his first 100-yard game since Week 7 of the 2022 season. The Chiefs improved their record to 5-0 and remain the only undefeated team in the NFL going into their Week 6 bye.