Jaxon

Smith-Njigba

Coming off his worst game of the year by far, Seattle made it a point to get JSN going early with six targets on the team’s first two drives. While forcefeeding him looks didn’t results in loads of production, it was a sign of good things to come. JSN came up big in the second quarter by taking a crossing route the distance for nearly 30 yards. He scored again on a scramble drill inside the five during the fourth quarter. While JSN’s fantasy outlook was revealed to be less than bulletproof with just 23 yards in Week 13, he is still on pace for one of the greatest seasons in league history. He will remain atop the WR1 ranks for Week 15 versus the Colts.

It was by far Smith-Njigba’s worst outing of the season. He had incredibly not had a game below 79 receiving yards through Week 12 as the engine of the entire Seattle offense. Game script went sideways in a hurry in this one, as the Seahawks defense dismantled the Max Brosmer-led Minnesota offense and left the Seattle offense in clock killing mode as early as the third quarter. A slow game was bound to happen for JSN eventually. He remains on pace for an historic 2025 campaign. JSN and the Seahawks will face the Falcons in Week 14.

Already the league’s leading receiver by a considerable distance coming into the proceedings, Smith-Njigba decided to have his best game yet. The 167 yards were a new season high, while the two-touchdown effort was his first of 2025. Score No. 1 was a 63-yarder where he somehow got matched up with a safety 1-on-1. JSN had to come back to the ball, but still ended up making mincemeat of Amani Hooker. Again matched up on a safety in the third quarter, JSN hauled in a 56-yard gain before finishing the drive with a 13-yard score two plays later. Simply playing out of his mind as a perfect stylistic fit with OC Klint Kubiak and QB Sam Darnold, Smith-Njigba is running away with the receiving yardage crown to a degree that will make him difficult to catch. Week 13 opponent Minnesota is prone to giving up big plays deep.

It was Smith-Njigba’s seventh game this season with more than 100 receiving yards. He was targeted on 26 percent of his pass routes and had one of the best catches of the NFL season — a one-handed stab near the sideline on an off-target throw from Sam Darnold. JSN’s domination of air yards and targets in the balanced Seattle offense makes him the safest player in fantasy. He’ll be an elite option against the Titans in Week 12.

Smith-Njigba somehow got there for fantasy purposes in a game that saw Sam Darnold log just 13 drop backs before the Seahawks shut down their offense up 35-0 in the second quarter. JSN accounted for 53 percent of Seattle’s receiving yards and was targeted on a whopping 46 percent of his pass routes. His touchdown was his sixth of the season. Smith-Njigba was checked for a concussion in the second quarter; his practice status should be monitored this week ahead of the Seahawks’ Week 11 game against the Rams.

JSN was hit in the head on a downfield incompletion in the first quarter, and after remaining in the ballgame for a couple snaps, was ushered to the sideline for a concussion check. Before his exit, Smith-Njigba was lighting up the Arizona secondary to the tune of 82 yards and a score on four receptions.

The only thing Smith-Njigba failed to do in this one was find paint, with both Elijah Arroyo and Cody White scoring their first professional touchdowns and rookie Tory Horton tacking on two more. Smith-Njigba remains one of the premier receivers in the game and continues to lead the league in receiving yards through the midway point in the season, now having gone over 100 yards through the air in six of his first eight games. He’ll look to continue his torrid start to the season when the Seahawks host the Cardinals in Week 10.

Smith-Njigba was particularly effective on corner routes against the Texans, regularly picking up double-digit yardage gains before skipping safely out of bounds. The Seahawks’ No. 1 wide receiver nearly scored a second touchdown on Seattle’s 10th drive, but Texans CB Kamari Lassiter physically impeded his route just before Smith-Njigba entered the end zone, which ruined the play’s timing. Lassiter was hit with a defensive pass interference call that brought the Seahawks offense up to the Texans’ two-yard line, setting up RB Zach Charbonnet for a short rushing touchdown two plays later. Smith-Njigba’s longest play of the day was a 26-yard gain that occurred along the left sideline, when QB Sam Darnold delivered a perfectly placed ball over the wide receiver’s shoulder for an easy basket catch. Smith-Njigba’s touchdown reception was thanks to another needle-threading throw by Darnold on the Seahawks’ third drive. This is Smith-Njigba’s third straight game catching exactly eight passes, clearing 120 yards and scoring a touchdown. He is an elite WR1 against the Commanders in Week 9, following a Week 8 bye.

The second-highest yardage total of Smith-Njigba’s career was fueled by a new career-long catch of 61 yards that ended in the end zone. He simply ran right by new Jags CB Greg Newsome. JSN has now surpassed 100 yards in 4-of-6 games this season, and has yet to catch fewer than four passes. He’s caught fewer than eight only twice. A weekly contender for the WR1 overall crown, JSN does have a rough Week 7 matchup in a Texans defense coming off bye. The Seahawks will be heading into theirs. We will, of course, still be ranking him in the top five.

For all the skepticism about whether or not Smith-Njigba would be able to produce with Sam Darnold under center, the two have thrived. Darnold has had tremendous success pushing the ball downfield to JSN this season, and the 23-year-old receiver has proven to be as adept at going up to make catches through contact as he is at beating defenders with speed off the line of scrimmage. He’s truly emerged as an elite WR1 for fantasy.