Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s move from slot to outside has created one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers

• Nearly an an all-time start: In the PFF era (2006-present), Smith-Njigba’s 93.4 PFF receiving grade is the second highest of any wide receiver through nine weeks of a season (min. 25 targets).

• Tremendous deep ball success: Smith-Njigba has posted a jaw-dropping 411 yards on targets of 20-plus yards downfield so far this year. Through nine weeks of a season, it’s the most of any player this decade not named Tyreek Hill or DeSean Jackson.

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Few debates in football generate as much passion as the argument over who truly belongs among the NFL’s elite wide receivers.

Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are undeniably there, while Puka Nacua has firmly planted his flag among the best wideouts in the league. For the next player on your list, you’d be forgiven for pivoting to a safe pick; A.J. Brown, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown are all proven commodities, and nobody could rightfully criticise a list containing these players within your top five.

However, allow me to make the pitch for Jaxon Smith-Njigba belonging right up there among the very best wide receivers in football. Fortunately, I don’t have to dish out any hot takes to make this case — the numbers more than back it up.

Smith-Njigba has been on a receiving rampage as of late, with at least eight receptions for over 120 yards in each of his last four games. Add in back-to-back 100-yard performances to open the season, and Smith-Njigba has propelled himself to the top of the NFL’s receiving yards leaderboard, with over 100 yards to spare over second place. Not to mention, the Seahawks have already gotten their bye week out of the way!

Due to that bye, and the Seahawks being the most run-heavy offense in the NFL, Smith-Njigba doesn’t even land within the top 50 receivers in routes run so far this year. This results in a gaudy 4.41 yards-per-route-run figure — the likes of which we have rarely ever seen before.

In the PFF era (2006-present), Smith-Njigba’s 93.4 PFF receiving grade is the second highest of any wide receiver through nine weeks of a season (min. 25 targets). The 23-year-old sensation is the only wideout to post three straight PFF offensive grades of 90.0 or higher this season.

Smith-Njigba’s leap from Year 2 to Year 3 has been even more stark than his breakout transition from rookie to second-year pro. This can perhaps be attributed to the fact that he is now playing an entirely different role within the Seahawks’ offense compared to his first two campaigns.

Following the departure of D.K. Metcalf (and the arrival of Cooper Kupp), the Seahawks now align Smith-Njigba as an outside receiver 79% of the time. This is a massive leap from just 16% exposure to the perimeter last year, when Seattle mostly pigeon-holed Smith-Njigba to the slot.

This transition didn’t come without uncertainty. When Smith-Njigba was tearing teams apart alongside C.J. Stroud at Ohio State, he was lined up in the slot 89% of the time. And while his 6-foot, 196-pound frame is deemed above-average for the wide receiver position, Smith-Njigba’s naturally lean build (and irrefutable slot success) led many to question whether the Seahawks should dare to remove him from his comfort zone entering his third pro season.

However, Seattle didn’t have much of an option. With Metcalf elsewhere, and the Marquez Valdes-Scantling offseason experiment reaping no rewards, Smith-Njigba was tasked with becoming the Seahawks’ primary deep threat — something new quarterback Sam Darnold badly needed.

In his career revival year with the Vikings, Darnold threw for 1,192 yards on deep pass attempts (20-plus yards downfield). That was over 200 more yards than the next-closest quarterback. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison finished third and sixth, respectively, in receptions 20 or more yards downfield last season. Meanwhile, back in Seattle, Metcalf placed first.

Smith-Njigba’s pivot to the outside was born not out of curiosity, but out of necessity. Draft enthusiasts among us will remember the question marks surrounding his long speed, which ultimately led to him skipping the 40-yard dash at his combine. That’s one of several factors that could have caused skepticism surrounding this move. However, the numbers tell a different story.

Smith-Njigba has posted a jaw-dropping 411 yards on targets of 20-plus yards downfield so far this year. Through nine weeks of a season, it’s the most of any player this decade not named Tyreek Hill or DeSean Jackson. That’s not even who Smith-Njigba is as a receiver! For a player as technically gifted in short and intermediate areas to also have this dynamic deep ability to his game is truly extraordinary.

Of Smith-Njigba’s 11 deep receptions, four of them were contested catches, another NFL-high. That proves that not only is Smith-Njigba capable of blowing past you, but Darnold can also put the football up for grabs and trust Smith-Njigba to come down with it.

Likewise, his average depth of target has grown to 12.8 yards this season, a marked increase over 9.2 yards from last season — almost an entirely different player to his 6.4 ADoT from his rookie year. Smith-Njigba is winning on deep crossers, posts and nine routes while continuing to look just as menacing as ever on slants and hitches around the sticks. Five receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns on just post routes is a stat line no receiver should achieve through just eight games of football — no less someone who nearly exclusively played slot receiver since high school prior to this year. 

Smith-Njigba isn’t dropping passes at a lower rate than he used to. He isn’t averaging more yards after the catch than in previous seasons. Nor is he snagging an unrealistic percentage of contested catches that will eventually catch up to him. He’s simply getting the opportunities he deserves and winning with the one thing that got him this far: sensational route running.

When a draft darling like Smith-Njigba pans out, it’s always easy to say there wasn’t really a scenario in which he wouldn’t last in the NFL. However, it truly was just a question of who would put him in the best position to succeed. It may have taken a handful of years, but the Seahawks have cracked the code and unlocked one of the very best players in the sport.