6 Patriots Whose Stock Has Fallen Ahead of Training Camp

2. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Wide receiver

The writing is on the wall for JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2024. If it wasn't for a hefty dead cap hit thanks to the Patriots making a terrible decision to give him so much money in 2023, Smith-Schuster would probably already be gone.

Even as one of the primary weapons for Patrick Mahomes, Smith-Schuster was just "okay" in Kansas City. The Patriots gave him $16 million guaranteed, and as of right now, they have paid more than $500,000 per reception. Smith-Schuster caught 29 balls in 2023 in his first year with the Patriots.

Football doesn't seem to be the primary focus for Smith-Schuster, even though he's been really good at it before. At some point, he's not going to be able to ride the coattails of what he did once upon a time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots are learning the hard way here.

The emergence of young players like Demario Douglas could make this a rather easy decision. Not only is Smith-Schuster's stock down because of himself, but thankfully for the Patriots' sake, his stock is also down because young players are stepping up. The Athletic wrote this regarding second-year player Demario Douglas after OTAs and minicamp:

"Douglas was by far the Patriots’ best and most explosive playmaker in practice this spring. Every time he got the ball in his hands, good things seemed to happen for the offense. Now, it’s fair to concede that Kendrick Bourne didn’t practice as he recovers from his ACL tear, but these were important strides for the 23-year-old Douglas."

- Chad Graff

The arrow for Smith-Schuster is pointing straight down.