Grading Packers’ Signing of Jonnu Smith And Examining How He’ll Fit Offense

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are signing tight end Jonnu Smith, a source said on Friday, confirming what was initially reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

With Luke Musgrave out indefinitely with a neck injury, Smith will add another playmaker to the passing attack. The Packers really only have four players in the passing game that they can count on with Tucker Kraft and receivers Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed. Smith will give quarterback Jordan Love another weapon – and a different type of weapon – that should fit the offense.

Sources: The #Packers are signing former Pro Bowl TE Jonnu Smith to a 1-year deal.

One of the NFL’s most respected veterans, Smith has amassed 345 career catches and 30 TDs. pic.twitter.com/ZASVdIJUqV
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 27, 2026

Jonnu Smith’s Resume

A third-round pick by the Titans in 2017 – Packers coach Matt LaFleur was his offensive coordinator in 2018 – Smith set career highs with 88 catches, 884 yards and eight touchdowns for the Miami Dolphins in 2024, when he was selected to the Pro Bowl.

Last season with Pittsburgh, he caught 38 passes for 222 yards with two touchdowns. The feeble 5.8 yards per catch was in large part due to the Aaron Rodgers-led passing attack, which focused on short passes rather than longer-developing plays that would put the veteran quarterback more in harm’s way.

With the Dolphins, Smith ranked fourth among all tight ends in receptions and yards and was tied for second in touchdowns.

He is not a stretch-the-field player. Of 36 tight ends who were targeted at least 40 times in 2024, he was tied for 33rd (with Kraft) in average depth per target. However, he was seventh with 5.9 yards after the catch per catch (Kraft was first with 9.3).

In nine NFL seasons, Smith has 345 receptions for 3,531 yards and 30 touchdowns. His career average is 10.2 yards per catch; his career high of 12.9 came with LaFleur in 2018. For his career, he has averaged a robust 6.7 yards after the catch per catch. He forced more than 10 tackles in four seasons.

“When my number's called, I know it's called for a spark, to get us going,” Smith said after catching the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime against the Jets in 2024. “I know I had to make a play … because overtime.

“Especially those screen plays. Just getting those type of plays going, getting the momentum going when your number's called, you got to answer.”

Smith, who turned 31 this week, has played in all 17 games each of the last three seasons.

How Jonnu Smith Fits

Smith is much more a “move” tight end and matchup player than old-school tight end. Before the 2017 draft, he measured 6-foot-2 5/8 – hardly the prototype for a tight end – and ran his 40 in 4.62 seconds and had a 38-inch vertical leap.

As the numbers suggest, Smith is more of a short-game threat with his ability to get upfield and use his athleticism and strength to gain additional yards. That should fit nicely. Love loves to attack downfield, and he’s got the players to do it with Watson, Golden and Reed.

However, other than Kraft, what he didn’t really have was a safety-valve receiver capable of turning a 1-yard pass into a 6- or 8-yard gain. Smith can be that player and perhaps allow Kraft to make more plays down the field, something he’s capable of doing but hasn’t asked to do with great frequency in his career.

“I think he’s really gravitated towards the timing and understanding, how being open when the quarterback is ready to throw it to him and being able to use his speed on the stems of routes vertically before he snaps down or does any sort of break,” then-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said in 2024.

During the final seven games of the 2024 season, Smith had four games of at least nine catches.

“My faith has allowed me to know that I’ve been blessed with a gift that can’t go to waste, so it’s got to be daily work put in,” Smith said at the time. “Just keeping my mind right and again, just coming up here every day, being joyful that this amazing opportunity I’ve been blessed with to play this game that I love, that I still am in love with and just go out there, be free and be the best version of myself.”

With Pittsburgh last year, according to PFF, his 626 snaps included 254 in the slot, 198 on the line, 148 out wide and 26 in the backfield.

Speaking of the backfield: Smith carried the ball nine times for 70 yards last season.

Grading the Signing of Jonnu Smith

Last season in Pittsburgh, Smith finished fifth with 38 receptions as part of a loaded tight end room. He should fit well in the Packers’ new passing attack, which is centered on the team-first playmakers.

“He's a very resilient individual that's a competitor and makes all his teammates better by the way he competes,” McDaniel said.

From a targets perspective, Smith probably will be in a similar position with the Packers, a team with three talented receivers and a star tight end. However, with Love’s penchant for airing it out stretching defenses vertically, they should be better opportunities after his 4.5 yards per target ranked second-shortest among tight ends last year.

“Lighting up the stat sheet doesn’t win football games,” Smith said with the Dolphins, “but I understand that individuals having individual success, if the bulk of the team is having individual success; then that’s going to lead to a bunch of wins, so I’m just trying to do my part and be the best version of myself for this team to put us in the best situation to win games.”

At this point of the year, with training camps wrapping up and Week 1 coming up, the one-year deal is probably worth minimal money and upside incentives.

Really, this is a brilliant signing. If you want to nitpick, it should have happened two weeks ago. But for a passing attack with top-end talent in the starting lineup and not much beyond them, Smith could play a huge role in alleviating some of the stress of Kraft and giving Love some easy, productive receptions in key moments.

Grade: A.

The one big takeaway from Packers-Cardinals joint practice: ⬇️https://t.co/RGJF9B3nc8
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 27, 2026

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