Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn't just really good, he's going to be 'the guy'
Jaxon Smith-Njigba can do no wrong. At least according to anyone connected to the Seattle Seahawks. As them and they will say he is the second coming of *insert great wide receiver here.* Maybe they are right. Maybe they are not. But one thing is clear — the kid has potential. K.J. Wright, a former linebacker for […]
Jaxon Smith-Njigba can do no wrong.
At least according to anyone connected to the Seattle Seahawks. As them and they will say he is the second coming of *insert great wide receiver here.* Maybe they are right. Maybe they are not. But one thing is clear — the kid has potential.
K.J. Wright, a former linebacker for the Seahawks, went as far as to say that Smith-Njigba isn't just going to be another decent wide receiver — Wright said he is going to be "the guy."
"This dude is going to be the guy that for the next eight years, he’s going to be No. 11 for the Seattle Seahawks," Wright said. "… He’s going to be ‘the one.’ We’re talking about the next Doug (Baldwin), the next – I’m not gonna say Steve Largent, but you know, one of those guys. The next great Seahawks receiver. This is gonna be him.
“Just throw it his way. The man has glue for hands. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, good family.”
High praise for a wide receiver that hasn't played a single down in the NFL. But that is what his talent grants him — reverence.
Seattle selected Smith-Njigba with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He gives the Seahawks assurance and a can't-miss No. 3 wide receiver within the offense.
He's far from perfect, but he is uber-talented. What put him on the Seahawks' radar was his route running and catch radius. There are only a few balls that feel out of his jurisdiction.
It is that natural talent that had Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gushing about the receiver in early June.
“Oh, man, he’s really, really natural," Carroll said. "He’s really a natural athlete, gifted in his timing, in and out of breaks and things and his feel. He also has, which we saw this in the workout at school, he’s got great change of direction in him, and he’s got this marvelous ability to get in out of his turns."
Carroll, similar to Wright, also complimented Smith-Njigba's sure hands.
"His hands are just as natural as can be," Carroll said. "He’s really a bright football player too, it makes sense to him. We’ve already moved him all around, he’d been inside, outside, and all kinds of stuff. And so that looks like it’s just what we were looking for.”
For many, this level of pressure would be too much to live up to. But Smith-Njigba isn't wired like most players. He relishes in the pressure, seeking out situations he can feel uncomfortable in because that means growth. And that all but already guarantees the Seahawks made the right decision drafting him in the first round.
"It's tough, but I was just having fun just being out there with the guys, playing football again," Smith-Njigba said as the team finished up its offseason workout program. "It was fun. I wanted to do more, but I knew my time was going to come, and it did. I got to compete against these guys and got to do full practices and full speed, so it's been great.
"I think we did it the right way. I appreciate the training staff and coaching staff for doing that. It's been a long time since I've really been out there, so I feel like we did it the right way, and I appreciate them slowly building me up."
Wright may be right, and so may Carroll, which means for Smith-Njigba, the only direction to go is up.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba embracing the future, hamstring injury far in the rearview mirror
Seattle’s No. 20 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft is embracing the bright future ahead of him.
Feature image via Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK.
