Jaxon Smith-Njigba Development Emerges on Friday

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Jaxon Smith-Njigba Development Emerges on Friday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Will Chesanek | Last updated Oct 30, 2026 10:38 AM ET

Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks has picked up right where he left off from the 2025 NFL season. Wide receiver Smith-Njigba finished last year with 1,793 receiving yards, finishing eighth all time in NFL history for a single season. The 6-foot-0 receiver set a Seahawks franchise record with his 119 receptions.

The 24-year-old was instrumental to Seattle’s Super Bowl victory, finishing with 199 receiving yards and two touchdowns in three postseason games. So far during the 2026 NFL regular season, the Texas native has been on a torrid pace. The former Ohio State Buckeyes standout is second in the NFL with 58 catches, first with 867 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns, and has an average of 14.9 yards per catch.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Now, after seven games, Pro Football Focus has released its highest deep receiving grades for WRs this season. Coming in first is New York Giants’ Malik Nabers with a 99.9 rating, followed by Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals with a 99.5. In third place is Smith-Njigba with a 99.4 rating. Coming in fourth was Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens with a 99.3 rating, and fifth was Jaylin Noel with a 98.6 rating.

The rating is devised by evaluating wide receiver and pass-catcher performance across target depths, with PFF classifying deep targets as passes traveling 20-plus air yards downfield. The scale is converted onto a 0-100 scale based on individual play evaluations, ranging from -2.0 to +2.0.

The rating is focused on deep passing and receiving metrics isolated to determine the receiver’s ability to track, separate, adjust to the ball, and make contested or explosive catches.