Falcon Report

Jonnu Smith 'Immediately Felt at Home' After Falcons Trade

A trade can be a challenging time in a player's career. However, for Jonnu Smith, things were different when the Atlanta Falcons acquired him in a trade with the New England Patriots.

Jeremy Brener

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The Atlanta Falcons are giving Kyle Pitts a tight end partner after acquiring Jonnu Smith in a trade with the New England Patriots last week.

Trading for Smith reunites him with head coach Arthur Smith from their days in Tennessee. The Smiths worked together for four years with the Tennessee Titans when Arthur was the tight ends coach who helped draft Jonnu in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Smiths' relationship was a big part in helping Jonnu feel immediate comfort after the deal.

"When I walked into this building, I immediately felt at home the way I was embraced," Smith said via The Atlanta Journal-Consitution. "Just the chemistry from the people that I met today. That’s always a good feeling to have. I’m excited about where I’m at. Just from watching this team, knowing who Art is and knowing the people he surrounded himself with to build this team. The sky is the limit for him. I’m excited to be a Falcon.”

At his best, Smith is a prototypical ‘move’ tight end, best utilized as an effective target in the red zone. In his final season with the Tennessee Titans in 2020, he totaled 41 receptions for 448 yards and eight touchdowns. All eight of those scores came in the red zone.

Now, he'll hope to replicate some of that magic in Atlanta.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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