Throughout the Seattle Seahawks' rollercoaster of a season, no player, at least on offense, impressed more than second-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The former Ohio State star showed why he was the first receiver off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft, recording 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. He was solid as a rookie, but truly showed what he's capable of in his sophomore season.
Now, the next step for Smith-Njigba is to continue to build on his success this season, and potentially join the league's elite receivers. However, Yahoo Sports' Matt Harmon took it a step further than that.
Bold prediction: Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the league in receiving yards in 2025 after having his breakout year last season, where he led all WRs with 4.56 yards per route run vs. man coverage from Week 10 on (minimum 200 routes). pic.twitter.com/J7nMczhuFt
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) February 4, 2025
"I think JSN leads the league in receiving next year," Harmon said on the "Football 301" podcast. "Obviously already coming off a breakout year, he was disgustingly good in the second half of the season. I don't think people realize just how good he was, not just doing slot receiver things, but beating man coverage. Over four yards per route run against man coverage from Week 10 on. That was really where he won, to me, as a prospect, was in that intermediate middle of the field, out breakers, in breakers, particularly against man coverage.
"I think in this offense with Klint Kubiak, he will probably be that featured receiver. Not like the typical Shanahan X receiver like the Nico Collins' or the Aiyuk's or anything like that, but that guy that moves around the formation, can play inside-out. I think he's just going to get loaded up with targets next year."
Starting with a 180-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, Smith-Njigba went on a tear through the second half of the season. He had over 70 yards in seven-straight games, with that streak only coming to an end in the Seahawks' 6-3 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 17, a solid contender for the worst game of the season.
It's telling that Smith-Njigba played alongside fellow first-round receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, yet he was the most-productive of them all when healthy. Now, that talent is translating to the NFL perfectly.
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