Fresh off winning a Super Bowl and being named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba joined The Reset with Gee Scott to reflect on his storybook season and look ahead to what’s next.
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Here a few highlights from their wide-ranging conversation.
Kupp’s impact
Smith-Njigba piled up a franchise-record 1,793 receiving yards during the 2025 regular season, which was the eighth-most in a single season in NFL history. It was a massive jump from his 628 receiving yards as a rookie in 2023 and his 1,130 yards in 2024.
Smith-Njigba credited his success in part to veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who signed a three-year contract with the Seahawks last March after a decorated eight-year run with the NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams. The 32-year-old Kupp was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, when he finished with the second-most receiving yards in a season at 1,947.
Smith-Njigba said Kupp helped foster a “process over results” mentality.
“I give credit to Cooper Kupp for that,” Smith-Njigba said. “It kind of changed my life, honestly – not being a slave to the result. I’m about the process. I’m about every day. I love the process of this thing. I love getting better at all angles of my life.
“The hours that he puts in and the dedication and the focus on the process – I haven’t met anyone like that,” Smith-Njigba added. “And I know being aligned with him in life and on this team, I knew that I was going to get better. That’s what great players do. They get players around them better.
“And I can take a lot from Cooper Kupp – the man that he is and the football player and everything else in between. I mean, when a Hall of Fame receiver comes to your position group, your eyes light up and it’s like you’re in football heaven.”
‘A beautiful thing to be a part of’
In just his second year as an NFL head coach, 38-year-old Mike Macdonald guided the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title.
Much of the attention around Macdonald centers on his defensive wizardry, and rightfully so. After inheriting a defense that ranked 25th in scoring in both 2022 and 2023, Macdonald orchestrated a dramatic turnaround that produced the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defense this past season.
But Smith-Njigba focused on the tight-knit culture that Macdonald built – which was strikingly evident throughout the Seahawks’ championship run.
“He’s special,” Smith-Njigba said. “The culture that he built from day one, it’s awesome. It’s a privilege to be a part of. It’s a privilege to push that belief in the system that we have. And it takes all of us, but it starts with him and his everyday process and his belief in his players. You can see it on him. … He’s someone you want to run through a brick wall for.
“This is the start of something special,” he added. “We know that, and we’re gonna protect that at all costs. And it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.”
Contract talk
With Smith-Njigba now heading into the final year of his rookie contract, he’s in line for a massive extension.
Earlier this month, CBS Sports writer and former NFL agent Joel Corry told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy that, if he were Smith-Njigba’s agent, he would push for a deal that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. That honor currently belongs to Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons at $46.5 million per year.
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During their conversation, Scott asked Smith-Njigba whether he believes he should be the NFL’s highest-paid offensive player. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase currently holds that distinction at $40.25 million per year.
“I would say so,” Smith-Njigba said. “They don’t just hand offensive MVP out to anybody. It’s the best offensive player. And I think when I line up on the field, I was the best offensive player, and that’s going to grow. I’m eager to get better.”
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