Jaxon Smith Njigba
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The Seattle Seahawks cashed in when a shocking scouting report led them to draft Jaxon Smith-Njigba and change the franchise for the better.
When the Seattle Seahawks used the 20th-overall pick to select Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the 2023 NFL draft, they got a multi-faceted playmaker who would redefine their wide receiver corps, inspire a Super Bowl win and become the highest-paid player at his position, but only after one AFC team passed on JSN after a shocking and bizarre scouting report.
It was the New York Jets who had the chance to snatch Smith-Njigba from the Seahawks’ clutches. That’s according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, who explained why the AFC East club passed, during an appearance on the Jets Collective.
Cimini recounted how “I was checking in with some people at the Jets and that old regime, and I was checking on wide receiver and I asked about one particular receiver who I thought might go in the first round. I go, ‘What about this guy?’ and he’s like, ‘Nah, you know, he’s slow on the stopwatch. He’s a slot receiver and he’s got a hamstring injury. Why would we take that guy? That guy turned out to be Jaxon Smith-Njigba.”
To say the Jets and their scouting department got Smith-Njigba all wrong is more than a mild understatement. It’s also an endorsement of the smarter and more nuanced drafting undertaken by Seahawks general manager John Schneider.
A draft strategy focused on more than just 40-yard dash times and Combine drills. Something fluid enough to anticipate what a rookie prospect might become in the right environment in the pros.
Smith-Njigba, fresh off signing his historic $168.6 million deal, is arguably the best example of how well Scheider’s approach has served the Seahawks.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Has Defied Jets Scouts
Smith-Njigba may have profiled as a slot receiver coming out of Ohio State, but that’s just one of the assumptions he’s defied since landing in Seattle. JSN matured from a slot specialist into a credible vertical threat last season.
This was one of a few key changes now former Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak made to improve Smith-Njigba. Another switch involved putting the 24-year-old outside the numbers more often, a clear sign the Seahawks have never been concerned about JSN being “slow,” the way the Jets were three years ago.
Smith-Njigba justified the faith of Kubiak and Co. with plays like this spectacular one-handed grab against the Los Angeles Rams.
These kinds of big plays are only possible when there’s trust between play-caller, quarterback and receiver. The Seahawks have been trusting Smith-Njigba ever since they used first-round draft capital on a wideout others perceived as plodding and one-dimensional.
Trusting what Smith-Njigba would develop into helped Schneider transform the Seahawks from a borderline playoff team into champions.
Seahawks’ Savvy Drafting Built a Champion
The Seahawks already boasted a pair of formidable wide receivers, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, when they drafted Smith-Njigba. His arrival helped hasten Lockett’s exit and eventually made Schneider comfortable with trading Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second-round pick in the 2025 draft.
That pick became safety Nick Emmanwori after another trade, more proof of how smartly the Seahawks play the board during a draft. Schneider is fond of rolling the dice for players who don’t fit a specific category, but have upside for different reasons.
For Emmanwori, versatility is his upside. For Smith-Njigba, it was the way he ran routes, a skill that offsets less than elite speed and can work from anywhere within a formation.
The Seahawks are smart enough to recognise the real selling point from a draftee’s skill-set. It’s how Smith-Njigba has outperformed expectations, and it’s also how Schneider can still make the most of this year’s draft, even when he only has four picks at his disposal.