Jonnu Smith is Due for a Breakout Year

Johnny Kinsley

With the departure of franchise cornerstone Delanie Walker, the Tennessee Titans are looking for a younger, fresher option to set the team at the tight end position for a long time. This search isn’t excruciating as they already have that potential option on the roster.

Fourth-year tight end Jonnu Smith hasn’t seen the heavy load Walker did in his seven years at Nashville, but he’s slowly gotten a lot of attention from the fan base and is heavily anticipated as the team’s breakout star in 2020. Part of a two tight end set along with Anthony Firkser, Smith in a contract year has a lot to prove and the talent to do so (provided that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith gives him a larger role on the receiving end).

Smith didn’t have quite the statistical impact you’d expect from a player hyped this much, as he caught 35 passes for 439 yards and three touchdowns in all of 2019. That had him at 69.7 fantasy points using Fantasy Data’s metrics, which is nice, but it had him ranked 17th among all tight ends, so there is a little way to go before he reaches that potential.

Luckily, Smith has the skill set to thrive in the Titans’ offense with Ryan Tannehill lasering in the darts. The league should know this, after all, since he had a key touchdown in the Divisional Round at Baltimore that was one of the more impressive plays of last postseason, though with the league-wide narrative that the Titans are “boring,” I guess the lack of attention isn’t all that surprising.

So what about Smith makes him an enticing option and someone worthy of all this praise I’m dropping down on him? Let’s take a look for ourselves and see why he just might be the tight end your dynasty team is looking for late in your drafts or even on the trek to the waiver wire.

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As far as receiving tight ends go, Smith’s skill set is among the most complete, at least when he’s been targeted. The one thing that pops out the most is his quickness. He has incredible speed in the open field, one that no tight end should be expected to have. Some might detract this by saying “He’s just a wide receiver playing tight end” as if that makes his skill set any less impressive, but it doesn’t.

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You pair a tight end like Smith with someone like Jason Witten and it’d be like comparing Tyreek Hill to… Jason Witten. That the two tight ends shared similar 40 times is an incredible disservice to what Smith does with space. Someone built like he is (over 240 lbs and 6’3″) should not be running this fast, but this is what makes Smith such a unique and fun player at the position.

One might even say he’s got otherworldly speed (for a tight end, anyway).

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Smith can also churn through tackles much like George Kittle or Rob Gronkowski. You take the above two plays for instance; It’s pretty rare for a tight end with this much strength to add a pinch of speed into the mix, which is why Smith has the following he does in Nashville and beyond.

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Smith is also tough at the catch point, exemplified by this play where he’s able to haul in a well-thrown ball from Tannehill whilst cradling it in and never letting it go. The Bucs’ defensive back tries to elbow it out of the breadbasket, but Smith secures it going to the ground, completing the process of a football move and ultimately a catch.

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Smith’s toughness at the catch point lends itself well against contested catches, and this is another area where the sun shined brightest on him. On this tight end throwback (one of the deadliest play calls in the book), Tannehill throws this pass off balance to a wide-open Smith. The pass itself is underthrown, but Smith does an excellent job of adjusting and timing his position, sizing up the linebacker with stronger hands and giving Tannehill a sizable margin for error on the touchdown grab.

Smith’s nasty hands came most significantly on the Titans’ first points in the Divisional Round at Baltimore in one of the biggest upsets in postseason history.

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Smith is not open on this play. This is terrific coverage on the part of Brandon Carr, and as the old adage goes, a better throw beats great defense. In this case, however, a better catch beat great defense, as this is something you’d expect more from Odell Beckham or DeAndre Hopkins than it is someone playing the tight end position.

This was of course huge on a third and goal, and after going up 7-0 the Titans never looked back on the highway to Kansas City.

Replacing Delanie Walker for good is not going to be easy for Jonnu Smith. In a contract year, that seems like a lot of pressure especially following one of the more treasured offensive players in the Titans’ brief history. Who knows if Smith can even approach the proximity of said expectations in year four altogether.

With that in mind, I think Smith is in line for a big year, provided he gets his share of the targets of course (Arthur Smith’s offense had trouble doing the same for Corey Davis, though with the combination of Derrick Henry and AJ Brown this made a little more sense). Showing more of his skill set off and coming through on key plays in 2019, he’s made it difficult for the coaching staff to truly give him the keys as the leader of the tight end group for good, and with Walker gone it’s pretty much set in stone.

Smith’s stats may not show it yet, but he has the potential to be a unique player in year four. His deadly combination of speed, knife cutting strength, and contested-catch ability add more tools to Tannehill’s toolbox, and if you’re looking for a late-round dynasty fix, you just might find it in Tennessee’s Smith.

johnny kinsley