"It's hard to say that this is more than expected," Macdonald said. "We had a great vision. He led the charge on the type of player that he wants to be. He's set his own standard and his goals, that he wants to be an elite receiver in this game in our league, and he's right there. He can run all the cuts, run on the whole route tree, take the top off. He's great after the catch. He's great in the run game. He's playing decisive right now. He's moving around, he's playing multiple spots."
His third year, alongside new teammates, hasn't changed the way he's approaching his game.
"I mean, it's all the same football. At the end of the day, football is football and I've said I've always had the mentality of beat the guy in front of me and figure out the zone and be there for my quarterback. So at the end of the day, it's the same thing. My mindset stays the same."
Since Smith-Njigba's been in the league, quarterback Sam Darnold had always taken notice of his game.
"He's one of a kind," Darnold said earlier on in training camp. "The way he can get in and out of routes, his shiftiness. He gets in and out of cuts, his speed, it's really everything. I described the way that he moves like a hockey player on ice, sometimes it feels like he's just skating out there the way he can get in and out of cuts. That's the way I feel as a quarterback, even not being on his team, I always felt like he was one of the best guys to run after the catch in the NFL. To see it in person, to see it every single day during camp has been special."