Jaxon Smith-Njigba looked like the perfect Patriots draft pick at combine
The Ohio State wide receiver flashed elite agility and route-running skills Saturday
It felt for a long time like the New England Patriots would never take a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft under head coach Bill Belichick.
Then it finally happened in 2019 when Belichick trusted the word of former Arizona State head coach Todd Graham, overrode scouts and selected wide receiver N’Keal Harry with the last pick in the first round of the draft. We don’t have to tell you the pick went poorly. Harry didn’t jell with Tom Brady, and then he didn’t mesh with Cam Newton (earning the nickname Doughboy was an ominous start), and he couldn’t find a rapport with Mac Jones, so he was traded to the Chicago Bears for a future seventh-round pick. Now he's a free agent.
Belichick can’t let past failures influence his future decisions. He must get back on that horse. Correct that mistake from four years ago. Draft Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 14 overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft next month and don't look back.
The Patriots did spend substantial time with early-round wide receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine, a source said. They met with Smith-Njigba during the week in Indianapolis.
Smith's combine performance
Smith-Njigba displayed everything we needed to see Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine to prove he’s the right pick for a team that will probably lose top wide receiver Jakobi Meyers in free agency if his price tag really does get into the $16 million-per-year territory. Smith-Njigba didn’t run the 40-yard dash, which is probably smart because as a slot receiver, he’s not a burner. But he did best all combine participants so far with a 6.57-second 3-cone drill and 3.93-second short shuttle plus leaped a respectable 10-foot-5 broad jump and 35-inch vertical, proving he's not all agility with no explosion.
He was also the smoothest route runner on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf Saturday as he teamed up with his college quarterback C.J. Stroud.
It’s not a perfect comparison until we know what Smith-Njigba actually runs at his pro day, but so far his measurables stack up very closely to Patriots playoff legend Julian Edelman, though JSN is three inches taller.
How he'd fit
Edelman actually split his time pretty evenly throughout his Patriots career in the slot and outside, while Smith-Njigba spent 85 percent of his snaps last season in the slot (in a limited sample size) and 88.6 percent of his snaps in the slot in 2021, per PFF. Edelman ran his routes a bit more suddenly while Smith-Njigba is a smoother athlete. Smith-Njigba would certainly come with a higher ceiling than Edelman despite the latter's postseason accolades.
Smith-Njigba could certainly do a lot of the things Edelman and slot receivers before and after him in New England’s offense like Troy Brown, Wes Welker, Danny Amendola and Meyers mastered in the Patriots’ offense in his ability to find open pockets in zone coverage and serve as a quarterback's security blanket. Welker had the best season of his NFL career in 2011 with returning Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien running the show. Smith-Njigba is a slightly taller version of that prototype Patriots receiver who can get open in a phone booth with a well-run whip route.
Mac Jones is not Tom Brady, who was throwing the ball to Welker that year, but he could also certainly use an upgrade to his offensive playmakers this season. New England could trade for a player like DeAndre Hopkins or Brandin Cooks, but those feel more like short-term moves, and the Patriots are not one wide receiver away from competing for Super Bowls. Good wide receivers are expensive and hard to come by. First-round picks are valuable, and it’s more like the Patriots to use theirs on an offensive tackle or defensive cog, but the potential to have a cost-controlled top-tier wide receiver manning the slot for the next four-to-five seasons (and maybe beyond) should be an attractive one.
Smith-Njigba's pedigree
Smith-Njigba isn’t all combine drills and running routes on air either. He’ll need to explain his 2022 season, which he missed the majority of, including the College Football Playoff, with a hamstring injury, but he was better than two 2022 first-round picks in 2021 when he outproduced reigning offensive rookie of the year and New York Jets first-round pick Garrett Wilson and New Orleans Saints first-round pick Chris Olave at Ohio State.
Both Wilson and Olave are faster than Smith-Njigba, but he caught 95 passes for 1,606 yads with nine touchdowns in 2021. Wilson went 70/1,058/12 and Olave was 65/936/13. They’re all different types of receivers. They all have their strengths. And if the Patriots lose Meyers, then Smith-Njigba is the absolute perfect player to replace him with significantly higher upside. New England already added a burner in last year’s draft in Tyquan Thornton. They have Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker to fill out the wide receiver roles. But they need their slot.
Getting Smith-Njigba after an injury-plagued junior season also provides some unique value, and Belichick loves a good value pick.
Ultimately, it is too early to know what Belichick will do in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Patriots need a young offensive tackle, there are cornerbacks in this class who can lock down one side of the field and edge rushers with elite traits in the first round. Top-tier wide receivers come at a hefty price, however, and they’ve become increasingly difficult to find in the veteran market this offseason.
"With any of these positions, certainly at a playmaker position, there's a price you have to pay for these guys," Patriots director of player personnel told Patriots.com this week. "So whether that's allocating cap space or allocating a high draft pick, to be aggressive, if you want to have those dynamic playmakers, you have to pay the price for them."
Drafting one is the best move if New England is willing to be aggressive.
Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
