Tag: JSN

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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Pete Carroll’s timeline for Jaxon Smith-Njigba return may be too optimistic

Fans should probably not get too hopeful about seeing JSN on the field for the season opener.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told the media yesterday that rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered a “slight fracture” of his wrist and could miss the next 3-4 weeks as a result.

Then again, if you’ve ever broken a bone you know that’s a pretty optimistic timeline, as 6-8 weeks is usually the expected recovery time for any break. JSN has access to the best sports medicine on the planet, so his recovery probably won’t take eight weeks. However, 3-4 weeks still sounds far-fetched.

As ProFootballDoc David Chao explained on Twitter last night, a slight fracture is like calling someone slightly pregnant and bones don’t heal in three weeks.

He elaborated more in a video he posted, estimating that the Seahawks may not get JSN back in the lineup until Week 6.

Hopefully that’s not the case, but fans should probably not get too hopeful about seeing Smith-Njigba on the field for the season opener. No matter what the real prognosis is, the worst thing they can possibly do is rush him back before he’s ready and then he suffers a more significant injury that might put him out for an extended time.

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While Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf remain untouched and Jake Bobo is blossoming into a real threat, the Seahawks could use some help while these guys are out.

The Seattle Seahawks might have the best and deepest wide receiver room in the entire league this year. However, a rash of injuries can bring down even the greatest units and right now this group is a little bit thin.

To recap the slew of injuries at the wide receiver position, first-round draft pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba fractured his wrist in Saturday night’s win over the Cowboys and could miss the next 3-4 weeks according to head coach Pete Carroll. Super-athletic second-year wideout Dareke Young is also out with a hip injury that may require surgery and to top it off Dee Eskridge will be suspended for the first six games of the regular season.

While stars Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf remain untouched and undrafted rookie Jake Bobo is blossoming into a real threat, the Seahawks could still use some help while these guys are out. Here are 11 free agents who would at least add some more depth.

Updated Seahawks WR depth chart with Jaxon Smith-Njigba out

JSN’s injury will put Seattle’s wide receiver depth to the test.

The Seattle Seahawks – and the 12th Man – received rather unfortunate news on Tuesday morning. Rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba underwent wrist surgery after injuring it during the preseason win over the Cowboys.

Although there is optimism JSN could still be ready for the regular season, a surgery to the wrist (you know, the body part the hand is attached to) at this point in the year is certainly less than ideal.

JSN’s injury will put Seattle’s wide receiver depth to the test, especially considering he was drafted to bolster it and the fact Dee Eskridge is serving a six-game suspension.

Below is an updated depth chart for Seahawks wide receivers, sans JSN and Eskridge:

  • DK Metcalf
  • Tyler Lockett
  • Dareke Young
  • Cody Thompson
  • Jake Bobo
  • Matt Landers
  • Easop Winston Jr.
  • John Hall
  • Cade Johnson
  • Justin Marshall
  • Tyjon Lindsey

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Mina Kimes, Doug Farrar discuss Seahawks’ 2022 red zone woes

Watch Mina Kimes and Doug Farrar discuss Seattle’s red zone woes from 2022 and how adding rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba should help.

The Seattle Seahawks had a good but not great offense last season, finishing in the top 10 in scoring and No. 14 in offensive DVOA. One area they’ll need to improve upon is their performance in the red zone, where they scored on just 48.28% of their opportunities – ranking No. 27 in the NFL.

Watch Mina Kimes and Doug Farrar discuss Seattle’s red zone woes from 2022 and how adding rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba should help.

 

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Feel free to continue being excited, 12’s.

There is a reason why the 12th Man got excited when the Seattle Seahawks drafted Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Easily the best wide receiver in the 2023 NFL draft, Smith-Njigba was the first one off the board when the Seahawks selected him at No. 20 overall.

Seattle typically doesn’t make splashy picks like this, especially in the first round. But JSN fit a particular need for a legitimate No. 3 receiving option. If first impressions mean anything, it appears he will fill this role quite nicely.

Feel free to continue being excited, 12’s.

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