Jaxon Smith-Njigba has always known you can’t cover him. Now, he’s proving it – The Athletic

RENTON, Wash. — When Jaxon Smith-Njigba is at the peak of his powers, he has that look in his eyes.

The same look, every time, whether in practice or a game. It’s subtle, but it says everything you need to know about the Seattle Seahawks star and the attitude that has propelled him to the top of the league’s wide receiver ranks.

A national audience saw the look on Sept. 25 when Smith-Njigba caught a 36-yard pass in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals. After Smith-Njigba launched the ball into the crowd and jogged toward the line of scrimmage, Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” cameras zoomed in on his face and captured the 23-year-old shaking his head and closing his eyes, a mixture of relief and frustration at the fact that it was only his third catch of the night.

On Sept. 14, everyone at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh saw the look late in the fourth quarter after Smith-Njigba caught a 43-yard pass with Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey glued to him. Smith-Njigba stood up, flexed and took three slow, elongated steps, like a pedestrian trying to avoid a puddle.

More recently, he flashed the look on Oct. 12 after beating a Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback on an out route. The 20-yard gain carried Smith-Njigba out of bounds in front of the Jacksonville sideline, where he turned toward Jourdan Lewis and spun the ball at the defender’s feet before trotting away. He was flagged for taunting.

The look debuted this year at Ray Nitschke Field in Green Bay, Wis., during a joint practice with the Packers. A brawl broke out during a red zone period. On the first play after the fight, Smith-Njigba beat cornerback Kamal Hadden for a touchdown. Smith-Njigba flashed the look — then shouted what it means.

“This s— too easy!”

Smith-Njigba has 696 receiving yards in six games, most in the NFL entering Monday night’s home game against the Houston Texans. He’s the focal point of one of the league’s top offenses, and he’s on pace to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving yards record.

Smith-Njigba has every physical tool required of a historically good receiver. He is a precise route runner, adept at accelerating in and out of his cuts like a car weaving through traffic. When the ball is in his vicinity, it sticks to his fingers. He has the flexibility to contort his body and make difficult catches appear routine. Speed, spatial awareness and vision make him a natural at generating yards after the catch.

There’s another trait Smith-Njigba has, helping him author a record-setting prep career in Texas, etch his name in school history at Ohio State — thanks in part to a 347-yard Rose Bowl game — and then jet off to a historic start to his first NFL season as a No. 1 receiver.

For as long as he can remember, Smith-Njigba has felt he’s the best there is. He knows you can’t guard him. All that’s left to do is show you.

“I’ve always believed it,” he said recently on “The Reset with Gee Scott” podcast. “Since I was 3 years old, man. For real. Ever since I stepped on the field, I just knew I was a great.”

Smith-Njigba has the luxury of feeling this way and carrying himself accordingly without being labeled a stereotypical diva wide receiver. How? Well, because everyone agrees with him.

The former Rockwall High star has his name in the Texas record books because of a prolific prep career that earned him a scholarship to Ohio State as a five-star recruit. In a wide receiver room headlined by future first-round draft picks Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson — along with first-rounders Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. waiting in the wings — it was understood in Columbus that the Smith-Njigba was built different than the rest.

Smith-Njigba’s 95 receptions and 1,606 receiving yards in 2021 remain the highest single-season totals in school history. Even after Olave and Wilson had 1,000-yard receiving seasons as NFL rookies in 2022, Smith-Njigba was believed to be Ohio State’s best pro prospect.

Smith-Njigba was the 20th pick and the top wideout selected in the 2023 NFL Draft despite playing just 60 snaps in his final collegiate season because of injury. Playing beside Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf as a rookie, he flashed so much in the spring and summer that, according to Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock, “It was evident he needed to be worked into the offense quickly.”

“You feel greatness when you’re around him early in those first couple years, but the level he takes that to is on him,” Lock said. “He just continues to try and get better. That makes him special.”

By Year 2, Smith-Njigba emerged from the shadow of Lockett and Metcalf and became the league’s most productive receiver from the slot, resulting in a Pro Bowl appearance as an alternate. Now, in Year 3 with Lockett and Metcalf gone, Smith-Njigba is the league’s most productive receiver regardless of alignment — just like his people in Seattle expected him to be.

“He that dude,” Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon said recently in a moment captured by the team’s sideline cameras. Witherspoon was drafted the same night as Smith-Njigba and has consistently been a very vocal supporter. “I tried to tell y’all earlier,” he said. “They ain’t want to listen to me.”

Everyone from every level of Smith-Njigba’s career has the same read on him: The proficiency seen on game days when the cameras are rolling is perfected in practice when there aren’t any around.

“From the time he was a freshman, you never had to coach effort with him — ever,” said Rodney Webb, Smith-Njigba’s coach at Rockwall.

Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline said the same thing on draft night: “He wants to be the best player on the field every time he’s on the field. He wants to dominate practice.”

Between practices, Smith-Njigba texts Seahawks receivers coach Frisman Jackson for the next challenge. What can I get better at? What do I need to work on? What didn’t work for me today? Smith-Njigba did the same thing in high school, regularly texting quarterback Braedyn Locke at 2 or 3 a.m. to relay tidbits from his late-night film study. The one year they spent together, Locke said, was a transformational experience because of Smith-Njigba’s work habits.

“Was he confident in himself? Did he believe in himself? Did he think he was the best player on the field? Absolutely,” said Locke, now at the University of Arizona. “But he earned that right. He redefined what working hard for me was at that time.”

In the 2024 offseason, Smith-Njigba flew around the country to participate in throwing sessions with quarterback Geno Smith. When Seattle traded for quarterback Sam Darnold in March, Smith-Njigba immediately reached out to see when they could get together and throw. And every rep is at full speed, no matter what.

“If he’s out there on the field, he’s going to 110 percent; it’s nothing mediocre,” said Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who has had to guard Smith-Njigba in a game and now does it regularly in practice. “I love that he runs his routes full speed in practice. There’s no slowdown about his game, man. And in the game, it makes everything look so much easier.”

So, in Week 3, when Smith-Njigba ran 45 yards down the field with two defenders on him and didn’t bring his hands up to make the catch until the last second — a technique Seattle cornerback Derion Kendrick called “tough as f—” to defend — no one batted an eye. When he twisted in midair to make a critical back-shoulder catch in Week 4 to set up the game-winning field goal, teammates simply saw that as Jaxon being Jaxon. Same with his 53-yard contested catch on Oct. 5 and his 61-yard touchdown against the Jaguars.

Touchdown JSN! 61 yards.

SEAvsJAX on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/2RqhCoOuX4

— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025

Smith-Njigba, the league’s leader in catches of at least 20 yards with 13, makes it all seem simple and routine.

“It pisses me off,” Seattle receiver Jake Bobo said, laughing at Smith-Njigba’s knack for making complex catches look common. “Yes, he’s a professional, but that kind of stuff is not normal.”

For Smith-Njigba, it is.

“Just an elite, elite receiver,” Lock said.

Smith-Njigba is serious about believing since he was a child that he was destined for greatness. As for making the NFL, that felt attainable his junior year at Rockwall.

“I just felt it in me like, ‘This is what I was made to do,’” he told Scott.

Why did he feel that way, exactly?

“I had 1,800 yards, about 25 touchdowns,” Smith-Njigba recalled thinking. “Yeah, it’s time.” He wasn’t necessarily unsure before that season, he said, “but I felt stamped at that time.”

That’s Smith-Njigba in a nutshell: humble but also happy to acknowledge he is who he says he is. In a pregame interview with ESPN’s Randy Moss on Oct. 12, the Hall of Fame wide receiver asked Smith-Njigba about the difficulty switching between slot and outside receiver over the past year.

“It hasn’t been hard,” Smith-Njigba said. “I feel good wherever. I’m a ball player.” Moss then asked if Smith-Njigba approaches the game differently when playing outside. Smith-Njigba noted that playing outside means being an island in one-on-one situations more often. “That’s what I love,” he said, later adding how that relates to his connection with Darnold: “Just throw it up and I’m going to go get it.”

The connection between Jaxon Smith-Njigba, right, and Sam Darnold couldn’t have gone much better to start the 2025 season. Jane Gershovich / Getty Images

Smith-Njigba’s assessment of his inside-out capabilities is relevant because his ascension is emblematic of a leaguewide paradigm shift. Smith-Njigba is 6 feet tall and plays at about 200 pounds. He posted a pedestrian 40-yard dash time of 4.52 seconds with an underwhelming 1.65-second 10-yard split. His agility testing was excellent, but his performance in drills meant to measure explosiveness was good, not great.

Smith-Njigba is not physically imposing in the way typically associated with No. 1 wide receivers, who for years had to be excellent press-man beaters from outside alignments, with elite downfield speed. Perhaps that is why someone like Moss, a prototypical WR1 in that sense, was intrigued to hear how Smith-Njigba dominates from multiple alignments.

But players like Smith-Njigba are the new normal, not the exception. Defensive coordinators have evolved to become masters of multiplicity, with post-snap disguises, simulated pressures and exotic coverages making it harder to build an explosive offense around a stagnant WR1. There are some throwback wide receiver types still getting the job done, but many of the best in the business — Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, etc. — can affect the game from multiple alignments, including the backfield.

Because of his physical profile, Smith-Njigba’s versatility has always been part of his game. This offseason, Seattle bet he could unlock his full potential as the No. 1 guy.

“The measurable thing is outdated a little bit,” said Jackson, Seattle’s receivers coach. “You don’t have to be 6-3 or run a 4.3 to be a really good receiver in this league. You’ve got to understand when it’s time to attack leverage, when it’s time to run and change tempos in your routes, and then you’ve got to get open at a high level, a consistent level. He’s able to do those things.”

Seattle believes Smith-Njigba can sustain this dominance because of the do-it-all nature of his game. His gravity will eventually create opportunities for others, but Seattle will never allow him to operate primarily as a decoy. He’s built to beat any scheme, even against great opponents. It’s been that way since he was young.

In a playoff game his senior year at Rockwall, Webb recalled, they knew Klein Oak would have its highly touted cornerback, Dwight McGlothern, match up against Smith-Njigba. The experiment didn’t last long.

“He torched him so bad they had to move their safety over, and they had to double him with McGlothern pressed up on him and a safety over the top of him,” Webb said. “And he still produced.”

Some creativity was required — he scored on a screen pass and had a rushing touchdown — but the mindset was never altered by the opponent’s plan: Smith-Njigba wouldn’t be denied.

“It didn’t matter who the opponent was or who the guy across from him was,” Locke said. “Our mentality was, ‘He’s going to get open. He’s the best player in the country.’”

The Seahawks feel the same way. Whether against Houston Texans All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr and the No. 1 defense in the league on Monday night at Lumen Field or any other premier foes on the schedule, there’s unwavering faith in Smith-Njigba’s ability to dominate.

“Being our best athlete, he’s going to play every single spot on that offense,” Griffin said. “If you don’t got somebody who can cover him at every position when he’s in the backfield, outside or in the slot — which I don’t see nobody doing — I don’t think you’re going to be able to stop him.”

Although Smith-Njigba is supremely confident, he keeps his individual goals to himself. He’d rather the expectations for the team — make a deep playoff run and win a Super Bowl — to be public.

The individual goals, Smith-Njigba said, were written down “a long time ago,” and he’s yet to check off any boxes.

“I hate to really put it out there,” he said on “The Rich Eisen Show” in September. “They’re really personal.”

The reason for the secrecy, he says: “I don’t want to be called crazy or anything.”

Oddly enough, Smith-Njigba’s drive to achieve lofty goals is one reason everyone sings his praises. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald consistently compliments players for their mentality. This offseason, Macdonald said Smith-Njigba made it clear he’s on a mission to be the best. Every action he has seen from his star wideout since matches that vision. Macdonald loves that about Smith-Njigba.

“His mentality is steadfast and consistent: ‘I’m trying to be great at my craft. I’m also trying to push the envelope,’” Macdonald said. “Part of that is building chemistry with the rest of your offense, the quarterback and the rest of your receiver room and being a great teammate. That is what the great ones do, and that’s what Jaxon’s doing, and that’s what makes it so exciting, sustainable.”

In a way, you might argue it’s absurd for Smith-Njigba to think anyone worth listening to would doubt his ability to do anything he’s set his mind to. Anyone who has seen the look — or received a late-night text, observed his practice habits or witnessed him making highlight grabs look routine — likely believes the sky’s the limit.

Smith-Njigba has always believed that to be true. Now he’s showing it.