Smith Starts Fast, Stands Out

Tight end's career-best performance leads the Titans to a 33-30 victory over Jacksonville.

When Jonnu Smith looks at his single-game highs, one particular performance, at least for now, will appear three times: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (9/20/2020).

In the Tennessee Titans’ 33-30 victory over the Jaguars at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, Smith caught four passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns, both in the first half. He set single-game highs in receiving yards, touchdown receptions and he recorded the longest reception of his career (63 yards) on the first play of the game.

The fourth-year tight end entered this season as the Titans’ No. 1 option at his position for the first time in his career. Opportunity has met preparation, he said.

“I work hard, man. I have been blessed with a god given ability and it would be a disservice to my teammates, myself, if I didn’t live that out,” Smith said. “I have never started the season at tight end No. 1. With that comes a lot of great things. You are able to have more opportunities to put yourself, put your team, in a better position to win.

“I just work really hard and I am blessed and humbled to be able to showcase everything that I have worked for.”

Taken by the Titans in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, a performance like this one has indeed been in the works for Smith.

In his first two seasons combined (2017, 2018), he primarily served as a backup to Delanie Walker, the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions. He did, however, show flashes of what he could offer with a bigger role, catching a combined 38 passes for 415 yards and five touchdowns.

Last season, Smith took another step forward. In 19 contests (16 in the regular season, three postseason), Smith hauled in 41 passes for 498 yards and four touchdowns. In 14 games with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who took over for Marcus Mariota as starter in Week 6, Smith caught 36 passes for 409 yards. Tannehill delivered all four of his touchdown receptions.

This offseason, the pair spent time in South Florida building on the chemistry they developed last season.

“… Just building that trust in one another, him just seeing me do it over and over and know we're good,” Smith said. “That builds confidence, and you know me, that things get off schedule, he's going to be looking my way. So just trying to do everything I can to continue to build that trust and hope I'm making those plays.”

In the early stages of the 2020 regular season, it has more than paid off.

Through two games, Smith and Tannehill have connected eight times for 120 yards. Smith’s three touchdowns already tie his previous season high (2018, 2019).

“Really, he's a weapon that we can use all over the field,” Tannehill said. “We saw the first play of the game, him go – I don't know how many yards that was, 60 or something like that. Just have a ton of confidence in Jonnu. He has a great skillset, and he's been showing that the past two years. We have a lot of confidence in what he can do not only in the red zone, but in the open field as well.”

As the regular season progresses, expectations for Smith, who is in the final season of his rookie contract, will be higher.

If he can continue his strong connection with Tannehill and string together more performances like Sunday’s, opportunity and preparation will pay dividends for both Smith and the Titans.

“Just doing it over and over again and seeing me make those plays,” Smith said. “He just has the trust in me that I'm going to go up and get it. This is what I've got to continue to do and practice, making sure we're on the same page in meetings, and it's all going to translate out there on the field.”