Smith-Njigba Sets New Personal Receiving Yard Standard

When Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider used the team's second first-round draft pick last year to select the latest Ohio State star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he knew down the road he would be worth the investment. 

Little did he know the return would come so quickly in just his season season. 

The 6-foot, 197-pound former No. 20 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft reached the 1,000-yard mark during the Seahawks' 27-24 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings, ending the game with 1,089 receiving yards, 93 catches — both of which rank among the top 10 in the league at 5th and 6th respectively — and 6 touchdowns, which is tied for 20th in the NFL. 

"Jaxon's playing great football for us. [He's] fighting his tail off — we love him. Happy for him," Seahawks' coach Mike Macdonald said of his accomplishment after the game. 

Smith-Njigba hauled in 8 catches — tied with running back Kenneth Walker III — for 95 yards to lead Seattle, along with an 18-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter to pull the team with 17-14 just before halftime. 

Sunday marked the 10th game this season that the former Buckeye led the team in either receptions or yards this season, and the team has a 3-2 record in games that he hasn't finished as the leader in either category. 

"First I would like to thank God — I feel pretty healthy, feel good to be able to go out there and put that Seahawks' helmet on, it means a lot to me," Smith-Njijba said after the game. 

"Geno (Smith) too. I want to say thank you to Geno, and the rest of my teammates and the other receivers getting me open and the o-line doing their thing. Hopefully it's just the beginning."

Smith-Njigba becomes the 10 receiver all-time to eclipse 1,000 yards through the air and gives Seattle its sixth consecutive season with a 1,000-yard receiver dating back to 2019 when Tyler Lockett notched his first 1k year in his fifth season in the league. 

He joins Steve Largent (1984-86), Brian Blades (1989, 91, 94-95), Joey Galloway (1995, 97-98), Darrell Jackson (2001, 03-04), Koren Robinson (2002), Bobby Engram (2007), Doug Baldwin (2015-16), Tyler Lockett (2019-22) and D.K. Metcalf (2020, 2022-23). 

Smith-Njigba is the fifth receiver in team history to reach the 1k mark in their second season, along with Blades, Robinson, Jackson and Metcalf, with Galloway as the only one to do it as a rookie even though he didn't reach 1,000 yards in his season season in the league. 

As a rookie in 2023, Smith-Njigba recorded 63 catches (93 targets), 628 yards and 4 touchdowns over 17 games (3 starts).