Tag: JSN

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has dominated from the slot for Seahawks this season

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has dominated from the slot for Seahawks this season

Seattle Seahawks sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has flashed second-year growth this season. The former Ohio State standout currently ranks first on the team in receptions (50) by a sizable margin, with DK Metcalf, who missed two games due to injury, trailing him by 15 catches (35). Smith-Njigba also ranks in targets (75) and receiving yards (568, tied with Metcalf).

One of Smith-Njigba’s best pre-draft assets was his versatility. A technically advanced prospect, Smith-Njigba was described as being capable of playing all three wide receiver positions (X, Z, slot). It turns out he’s been especially dominant at one of those positions for offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb this season.

Smith-Njigba has recorded 43 receptions from the slot position, according to Pro Football Focus. He leads all receivers in catches from the slot. Smith-Njigba also leads all wideouts from the slot in receiving yards (514), first downs (25), and catches of 15-plus (13).

Grubb would be wise to continue moving Smith-Njigba around the offensive formation in search of advantageous matchups. PFF’s charting data indicates JSN has played 434 snaps from the slot and just 96 out wide as a boundary receiver. That indicates Grubb understands how to properly utilize Smith-Njigba’s skill set.

Pro Football Focus’ 3 highest-graded Seahawks players on offense vs. Rams

Pro Football Focus’ 3 highest-graded Seahawks players on offense vs. Rams

The Seattle Seahawks were defeated 26-20 by the Los Angeles Rams in overtime on Sunday. The offense gained 20 first downs and accumulated 424 total yards in a losing effort. Pro Football Focus had the following three Seahawks players as their highest-graded talents versus the Rams.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba | 92.5

Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba enjoyed the best game of his young career on Sunday. The sophomore wideout produced seven receptions for 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including a late fourth-quarter score that sent the game to overtime. Smith-Njigba was PFF’s second-highest graded receiver of the week, trailing just Zay Flowers (94.5).

Geno Smith | 76.2

Starting quarterback Geno Smith endured a rollercoaster of a performance. The veteran signal caller completed 21-of-34 passing attempts for 363 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. PFF ranked Smith highly despite him committing multiple turnovers. He was sacked seven times, and likely earned brownie points for performing behind a lackluster offensive line.

Charles Cross | 75.8

Speaking of that offensive line, franchise left tackle Charles Cross was the lone standout performer. Cross was credited with allowing just three pressures and zero sacks in pass protection. The former Mississippi State standout has been outstanding all season long. Seattle’s underwhelming offensive line requires more players of his caliber.

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Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba posted career-highs in Week 9 loss to Rams

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba posted career-highs in Week 9 loss to Rams

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was outstanding in Sunday’s 26-20 Week 9 overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. Smith-Njigba recorded seven receptions on 13 targets for 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns. It represented the most single-game receiving yards of JSN’s career. The seven catches were his third-most in a single appearance, and it was his first career multi-score game.

Smith-Njigba average depth of target (aDoT) of 20.3 yards was easily the highest of his career, according to Establish The Run’s Adam Levitan. It’s especially notable because JSN’s aDoT last season was just 6.4 yards under previous offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Sunday’s performance showcased some much-needed growth as Geno Smith peppered JSN with deep targets.

Smith-Njigba entered Sunday with an average depth of target of 8.2, significantly higher than last season’s 6.4. That number (8.2) will further increase once Sunday’s data is implemented to his season-long totals. There have been some disappointing metrics as well. Smith-Njigba also went into the game versus the Rams averaging fewer yards per route run (1.22), yards per target (6.3), yards per reception (9.0), and yards after catch per reception (4.5) than last season.

Sunday’s performance was JSN’s second 100-yard showing of the campaign after failing to reach triple-digit receiving yards in any game as a rookie. It also highlighted that offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is still learning how to best-utilize Smith-Njigba’s skill set. Sunday’s showing was a positive step in the appropriate direction.

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Watch: Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s first pass in the NFL

Watch: Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s first pass in the NFL

When the Seattle Seahawks hired Ryan Grubb to be their offensive coordinator, fans got excited about what he could bring. After all, Grubb’s offenses at the University of Washington were the best in the country during his tenure with the Huskies. Fans were clamoring for creativity.

Well, Grubb has certainly brought plenty of creativity to the Seahawks, and we got a little taste of it on Sunday. Against the Falcons, Grubb found a unique way to get wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba involved.

Making his debut as a (temporary) quarterback, JSN is completing 100% of his passes attempted in the league!

While JSN has shown he can complete a pass, I think the 12th Man is more than happy to utilize his unique skillset as a wide receiver.

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Watch Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba sell a fake-out for a big Geno Smith gain

Watch Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba sell a fake-out for a big Geno Smith gain

NFL players are often judged by the statistics posted in the box score. Analyzing the film can offer a friendly reminder that there are multiple ways to impact a game. Seattle Seahawks sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba offered a terrific example of just that in Sunday’s disappointing Week 5 defeat to the New York Giants.

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith rushed for a season-high 72 yards against the Giants. Smith’s longest pick-up of the afternoon went for a 32-yard gain. It was his largest rushing output since becoming Seattle’s starting quarterback in 2022, and his longest individual run, too. Smith-Njigba aided that gain by running a deep route and calling for the ball despite knowing his quarterback was scrambling, pulling two secondary defenders with him. and away from his vet QB.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all positive for JSN on Sunday. The second-year wideout dropped a critical third-down pass from Smith late in the fourth quarter that directly led to the block field-goal attempt on the ensuing fourth down.

Smith-Njigba has recorded 29 receptions for 289 yards and one touchdown through five contests. Smith-Njigba and the entire Seahawks offense will receive a quick opportunity to enjoy a bounce-back performance later this week versus the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football in a critical NFC West showdown.

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Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba takes ownership for dropped pass in Week 5 loss

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba takes ownership for dropped pass in Week 5 loss

The Seattle Seahawks suffered a shocking 29-20 Week 5 defeat to the New York Giants on Sunday. Seattle’s offense possessed the ball trailing 23-20 with under two minutes remaining. The loss was confirmed when the Giants blocked a Jason Myers 47-yard game-tying field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown.

Prior to the field goal that would have potentially sent the contest to overtime, the Seahawks were facing a 3rd-and-4 from the Giants’ 28-yard line. Had quarterback Geno Smith and the offense converted, Seattle could have continued embarking on a potential game-winning drive. Sophomore receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba dropped Smith’s third-down pass, however, leading to the blocked field goal on the ensuing down.

Smith-Njigba accepted blame for the dropped pass that led to the unfortunate turn of events during his post-game presser with the media.

“Just didn’t execute well,” a disappointed looking Smith-Njigba said. “We stopped ourselves today.”

Smith-Njigba recorded just four receptions via seven targets for 31 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season. In total, the sophomore wideout has 29 catches for 289 yards through five contests. Smith-Njigba will receive a quick opportunity to enjoy a bounce-back performance later this week versus the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football in a critical NFC West showdown.

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Seahawks roster ranked No. 16 by ESPN going into 2024 season

Earlier this week ESPN ranked the roster for all 32 NFL teams and Seattle landed right in the middle of their list at No. 16.

Most analysts have the Seahawks as a below-average team heading into the 2024 season, with a fundamentally flawed roster. However, not everyone agrees. Earlier this week ESPN ranked the roster for all 32 NFL teams and Seattle landed right in the middle of their list at No. 16.

Seth Walder at ESPN listed the team’s greatest strength as their wide receiver corps, the greatest weakness as their offensive line. The x-factor is second-year wide out Jaxon Smith-Njigba:

“Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba had a poor rookie campaign with open/catch/YAC scores of 45/23/55 in ESPN’s receiver tracking metrics, putting him well below average. While Seattle could get by on their aforementioned receiving strength before, they might need Smith-Njigba now. Lockett will turn 32 this year and showed signs of decline last year.”

We’d be pretty surprised if the Seahawks get anything but a fantastic year from JSN. The real x-factor is going to be that offensive line and whether it can be merely a mediocre unit or a back-breaking, fatal flaw. Much will depend on offensive line coach Scott Huff and how he can coach them up, as well as how much offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb can minimize their issues in pass protection.

On the other side of the ball, we’re confident that head coach Mike Macdonald will finally get their issues against the run fixed and dramatically improve their pass rush prowess. So long as the key pieces stay healthy the Seahawks should have no worse than an average defense after several seasons hovering near the bottom.

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Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba turns 22 years old today

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has taken over a roster that has a lot going for it, including a youth movement.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has taken over a roster that has a lot going for it, including a youth movement.

One of their most-promising young players is wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who turns 22 years old today. Here’s a look at what JSN put up in his rookie season in Seattle:

Recently Smith-Njigba has made headlines for criticzing former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who’s now with the Bears. JSN seems to have been frustrated with the offense’s production under Waldron, claiming that the unit left a lot of yards on the field. While it’s rare to hear a player openly complain about a former coach like this, Smith-Njigba has it exactly right on that account. Even with a poor offensive line, Seattle’s offense had more than enough talent to finish top 10 in scoring, but wound up finishing the season in the middle of the pack.

Then again, odds are JSN’s real beef is with his targets. For much of the early part of the season he was rarely utilized beyond the line of scrimmage, which put a very low ceiling on his numbers. His breakout game didn’t come until Week 6 when he scored his first touchdown and put up 63 yards. That number also ended up being his season high, though – more damning evidence that JSN was misused by Waldron. Smith-Njigba was arguably the top wide receiver in the entire 2023 draft class and could have put up much greater numbers if he’d been given the opportunity.

To be fair, the Seahawks offense has a lot of mouths to feed, including two stars at JSN’s position. The good news is that new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb ran a ton of three-receiver sets at Washington and Smith-Njigba can bank on his role growing significantly in 2024.

However, the x-factor may be just how much Seattle’s offensive line improves this offseason. While the Huskies had one of the best pass blocking lines in the nation last year, the Seahawks were one of the NFL’s worst teams in that department. Waldron had little choice but to use tight ends frequently as extra blockers, which limited JSN’s snaps.

Of course that’s exactly the kind of challenge that good coordinators are supposed to overcome at this level. That Waldron was unable to smoothly integrate a talent like Smith-Njigba is one of many reasons why it was the right move to go in a different direction.

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Here are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball this week for the Seahawks according to PFF’s grades.

The Seahawks are coming off a brutal loss to the Ravens, but there were at least a few silver linings. Defensively, Seattle got another strong performance from second-year edge Boye Mafe, who earned the highest grade on the team this week. Rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, cornerback Tre Brown and newcomer Leonard Williams also posted strong grades. The rest of it is pretty ugly, though – especially in the trenches.

Here are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball this week for the Seahawks according to PFF’s grades.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba expected to start season on active Seahawks roster

His status for Week 1 is unknown at this time.

Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered a fractured wrist in last Saturday night’s preseason win over the Cowboys. JSN appeared to suffer the injury when he was tackled from behind at the one-yard line after a long catch-and-run which was easily his top play of the preseason.

Head coach Pete Carroll told reporters soon after that Smith-Njigba’s injury would require surgery (which he’s since gotten) and that he might miss the next 3-4 weeks due to the injury, which sounds a bit optimistic.

Whether they’re rushing him back to soon or not, it appears that timeline is what they’re shooting for. According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, Smith-Njigba will start the season on the active roster and not on injured reserve. His status for Week 1 is unknown at this time.

JSN projects as the No. 3 wide receiver on the depth chart behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The Sehaawks normally carry six wideouts on their regular season roster, leaving Jake Bobo and a handful of other receivers to battle for the remaining three spots. The roster is due to be cut down to 53 players in a little over 24 hours from now.

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