It’s obvious USC wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster likes the West Coast.
He said as much in an interview with ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams earlier this week. Ramblinfan.com also posted a story about Rams fans’ excitement about Smith-Schuster’s hopes of playing close to home in the NFL.
“It would be nice to stay home,” Smith-Schuster said to ESPN.com. “My family’s down the street, which is another reason why I stayed at SC.
“The opportunity for me to stay close is you’ve got the Chargers, you’ve got the Rams, the 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, which could be [as close] as a three-hour drive in Las Vegas, and then go to the game. So why not? The percentage is high for me to stay home.”
But if you look closely at the talented Trojan wideout’s comments, notice with Los Angeles team he mentioned first: the Chargers.
Not the Rams, who beat the Chargers to L.A. by a year. Then again, the Chargers have proven Philip Rivers under center while the Rams are offering unproven-but-potential-filled Jared Goff.
Both the Rams and Chargers easily could use the 6-foot-1-plus, 215-pound Smith-Schuster. Los Angeles does not have a wide receiver taller than 6 feet, and the Chargers have had health issues with knee injuries to Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin.
The Chargers had a scout at USC’s Pro Day; it was not mentioned that a Rams scout was there to watch Smith-Schuster.
ESPN’s Todd McShay lists Smith-Schuster as the No. 8 WR in the 2017 NFL Draft. Fellow ESPN.com draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. has him ninth on his WR position board.
Whether that warrants a second-round selection with the No. 37 pick overall, which is what the Rams have as their first choice in the upcoming April draft, depends on their strategy in filling their many holes.
But it was interesting, and perhaps telling, that Smith-Schuster mentioned the Chargers before the Rams in talking about L.A.
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