Former Ohio State All-American star earns lofty expectations in bold predictions for 2025 NFL season
Former Ohio State star and current Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba began taking over as his team's No. 1 playmaker in 2024, and high expectations are being set for 2025. Yahoo Sports analyst and master of wide receiver advanced stats Matt Harmon laid out why he thinks Smith-Njibga could even lead the NFL in […]
Former Ohio State star and current Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba began taking over as his team's No. 1 playmaker in 2024, and high expectations are being set for 2025. Yahoo Sports analyst and master of wide receiver advanced stats Matt Harmon laid out why he thinks Smith-Njibga could even lead the NFL in yards next year.
This comes on the heels of a breakout season where JSN totaled 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. His lone year under offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb brought huge gains after a decent rookie campaign where he had 63 catches for 628 yards and four scores.
But another similar jump would be needed for Smith-Njigba to challenge for the league's receiving crown. Ja'Marr Chase totaled 1,708 receiving yards in 2024, and that was the lowest rate amongst league leaders since 2020.
Harmon referenced the fact that Smith-Njigba was red hot in the second half of the year. He led all receivers with 4.56 yards per route run against man coverage in the final eight weeks of the season. Assuming Geno Smith is back under center for Seattle and the team could push DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett out the door, there's viability to this bold prediction.
Of course, Seattle and Ohio State fans would be thrilled to see the former first-round pick make such a leap. It might not even be that surprising if we simply look back to what he accomplished in college.
Smith-Njigba appeared in seven games during his freshman year, finishing as Ohio State's top freshman receiver with 10 catches for 49 yards and one touchdown.
Entering his sophomore season, he was named the starting slot receiver for the Buckeyes. On November 6, 2021, Smith-Njigba set a single-game school record with 15 receptions for 240 yards, which ranked as the second-highest receiving yardage in a game in the program's history at that point, along with one touchdown in a 26–17 victory over Nebraska.
Later that season, he broke both Ohio State’s single-game and FBS Bowl records for receiving yards, achieving 347 yards in the 2022 Rose Bowl victory. In that game, he matched his own record with 15 receptions and surpassed David Boston to set a new single-season receiving yards record at Ohio State with 1,606 yards.
In 2022, Smith-Njigba’s season was limited to just three games due to a hamstring injury, and he was unable to participate in the College Football Playoff. He also announced he would forgo his senior year to enter the 2023 NFL Draft.
