There have been many storylines that have emerged from the Seattle Seahawks’ 7-2 start.
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There has been the impressive play of new quarterback Sam Darnold, who has silenced some critics while being the NFL’s most explosive passer. There has been the continued stellar play of Seattle’s defense under second-year head coach Mike Macdonald, who helped orchestrate a midseason defensive turnaround last year that carried over to this season. There have also been some key contributions from a rookie class that had plenty of buzz surrounding it when training camp began.
But one storyline stands above the rest to Kyle Brandt, a co-host of NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” That would be the record-threatening season that wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is putting together, he told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Thursday.
Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 1,041 receiving yards through nine games, and he’s on pace for a whopping 1,966 yards, which would break Pro Football Hall of Fame member Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 yards.
“Darnold gets a lot of the headlines and he deserves them. But what Smith-Njigba is doing … it’s so much more than he’s just playing well or he’s putting up good numbers,” said Brandt, who played running back at Princeton University. “He’s making people on defense look like idiots. He’s making people who didn’t draft him look like idiots. And he’s doing historic, historic things.”
Smith-Njigba has 210 more yards than the next-closest receiver: Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, who led the NFL in receiving with 1,708 yards last year. Smith-Njigba’s 16.5 yards per catch are also the most of any player with at least 41 receptions this year.
“The Smith-Njigba story right now is people (saying), ‘Oh, yeah, I have him in fantasy or I went against him in fantasy, and he’s really good.’ That is selling it so short, what is going on right here,” Brandt said. “… Have you seen this stat where Ja’Marr Chase is second in the league and he’s second by over 200 yards? That is the largest margin between first and second through 10 weeks since 1970.
“There has never been a receiver – Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson – who is doing a lap around the other receivers in the league through 10 weeks like JSN is right now. It’s so cool.”
JSN's double move got the separation pic.twitter.com/vUPCYWbrLC
— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2025
The success Seattle’s No. 1 receiver has had this year has also showcased just how quickly Smith-Njigba and Darnold have developed a rapport.
“I don’t know where that chemistry came from. Out of the gates, you would have thought that Darnold had played with him in peewee football his whole life. Those two guys just feel it,” Brandt said. “And the funny thing is … the Seahawks don’t pass very much. Despite all of that, they’re not really a passing team. But when they do … you have to watch it. I hope people do.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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