At first glance, Brad Smith might not look like an important part of the Jets offense as the team prepares for its first-round playoff game at New England Sunday. Smith finished the regular season with 18 rushes for 103 yards and nine catches for 61 yards. Those aren’t the kind of numbers that scare opposing coaches.

Yet Patriots coach Bill Belichick likely spent as much time this week thinking about how to stop Smith as he did any player on the Jets offense. That’s because Smith, a rookie who played quarterback at Missouri (where he passed for more than 8,000 yards and ran for more than 4,000) but switched to running back and wide receiver when the Jets drafted him, has a unique set of skills the Jets could use in countless varieties of trick plays.

The Jets gave a hint of some of the ways they can use Smith in last week’s regular-season finale against the Oakland Raiders. Smith got the ball only twice against Oakland, but both plays were the types that keep opposing coaches up late at night. The first was an end-around handoff in which Smith’s pure speed allowed him to turn the corner and gain 20 yards. The second was a quarterback sneak in which Smith lined up at wide receiver, went in motion in front of quarterback Chad Pennington, took the snap from center Nick Mangold and dove forward for a three-yard gain on third-and-2.

Smith is part of a growing trend of college quarterback s who change positions when they enter the NFL. In 2006, the Jets were one of four teams to draft a college quarterback and convert him to a running back or receiver; the others were the San Francisco 49ers with Penn State’s Michael Robinson, the St. Louis Rams with Virginia’s Marques Hagans, and the Cincinnati Bengals with Texas A&M’s Reggie McNeal.

None of those players made a major impact this season: Robinson played in all 16 games but was limited mostly to special teams, McNeal touched the ball only once, and Hagans never played in a regular-season game. But several other NFL teams get big contributions from players who spent their college careers at quarterback but had skills that were more suited to wide receiver in the NFL. Those include Matt Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Antwaan Randle El of the Washington Redskins, Ronald Curry of the Raiders, and Drew Bennett of the Tennessee Titans.

All of those players line up primarily at wide receiver, but that doesn’t mean they don’t occasionally get the opportunity to relive their college days and throw the ball. As a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Randle El threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass that gave Pittsburgh its final points in last year’s Super Bowl.

And that might be the Jets’ next wrinkle with Smith. Giving Smith the ball with the option of running or throwing will put the Patriots in a very difficult situation: If their defensive backs pursue Smith as soon as he gets the ball, he can find an open receiver downfield. If they stay back in coverage, he can outrace Patriots linebackers to pick up yardage on the ground.

Such a play sounds so good that it raises the question of why the Jets haven’t tried it yet. The answer could be that they didn’t want such a play to be on the film for opposing coaches to study. Although he’s not quite as tricky as Boise State coach Chris Peterson in Monday’s Fiesta Bowl, Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has shown a willingness to use more gadget plays than usual for the NFL. That includes not only Smith’s rushing attempts but also running plays for receivers Tim Dwight, Jerricho Cotchery, and Laveranues Coles, who combined for nine carries this season. With all those running plays by wide receivers, a pass by a wide receiver is the logical next step, and the playoffs are the right time to unveil it.

Belichick will be ready — he has rarely been outcoached in January. But even if the defense knows it’s coming, it’s hard to stop a player with Smith’s exceptional talent.