Jonnu Smith

Week 4 vs Buccaneers

Just one catch for four yards on six targets. That was Jonnu Smith's performance in Week 3 against the Saints. And for the second straight week, Smith only saw about 30 offensive snaps. Will that trend continue? Maybe, with the way New England continues to use Hunter Henry. Smith is our No. 22 TE this week against the Buccaneers.

Week 2 at Jets

Not surprisingly, the Patriots ran most of their Week 1 offense out of 12 personnel, nearly 50%. Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry played 55 and 54 offensive snaps, respectively, out of 75. Round one went to Smith. He saw five targets to Henry's three and caught all five of his targets for 42 yards (Henry had 3-31). Both still remain solid TE2 options, but Week 1 showed how each may negate the other in terms of overall fantasy output.

Fantasy Upside

2020 finally saw Jonnu Smith really see the end zone, scoring a career-high eight touchdowns, as he was a big target whenever the Titans got into the red zone. In fact, only four players had more red-zone touchdowns than Smith and only one of those four was a tight end (Travis Kelce). Smith was rewarded with a $50 million contract ($31.25 million guaranteed) from the Patriots in free agency to be one of the centerpieces of their offense.

Fantasy Downside

When Smith signed with the Patriots, he had a ton of fantasy potential. Then the team signed Hunter Henry to a considerable contract as well. For real football purposes, Smith and Henry give the Patriots a great duo at tight end to bully teams with 12 personnel. For fantasy purposes, Smith and Henry will limit each other's fantasy ceiling.

2021 Bottom Line

The fact that New England went after Smith first could be telling, but a lot also depends on the quarterback situation in New England, whether it's Cam Newton or Mac Jones. But Smith is still brimming with upside and you can get him fairly cheap in drafts as a TE2 with top-12 upside.