Seattle Seahawks fans are used to their favorite players getting disrespected. Maybe it's partly due to the team playing in the Pacific Northwest, far away from the rest of the world (except Vancouver, of course). The latest round of Seattle being dissed involves a wide receiver ranking for Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
JSN ascended to WR1 last season, his second in the NFL. In his rookie season, former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron had no idea how to use the young receiver, as JSN's average yards per catch were less than 10 until later in the year.
Not until 2024 did Smith-Njigba truly take off. His ascension led nearly directly to veteran Tyler Lockett's lack of production, as JSN was stealing the same targets Lockett would have gotten. Smith-Njigba also turned his catches into splash plays at times, but he was also quarterback Geno Smith's surest receiver.
Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba disrespected in recent wide receiver ranking
By the end of the season, the second-year receiver had tied the Seahawks' all-time high for catches in a season (100) and had 1,130 yards receiving. His touchdown total needs to come up as he only had six last season, but at least that number was higher than his rookie season.
Smith-Njigba also proved to be a far crisper route-runner than DK Metcalf, Seattle's presumed wide receiver alpha at the beginning of the year. Metcalf is more capable of explosive plays with his size, strength, and speed than JSN, but if a quarterback needs a completion, Smith-Njigba would be the choice over Metcalf.
Still, because of Metcalf's size and speed, he often gets viewed as the better receiver of the two. He isn't. Smith-Njigba's career catch rate is 70.9 percent. Metcalf has never had a season with that high of catch rate, and his career rate is 60.3.
Don't tell Pro Football Focus (subscription required) that JSN is a better receiver than Metcalf. In a recent ranking of the league's top 32 receivers, Smith-Njigba doesn't show up at number 27. The disrespect is absolute.
At least, Trevor Sikkema of PFF admits that Smith-Njigba could rate higher on the list. He writes, "...this isn’t a knock on his talent; he’s a highly skilled receiver with the potential for a breakout year in Seattle’s new offense."
The issue is that JSN had a breakout year in 2024. 100 catches and 1,130 receiving yards are a breakout season. What else does he need to do?
Sikkema has Metcalf ranked at 23. The PFF article points out that Metcalf did not have his best season last year but is starting fresh with his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The problem for the receiver is that he does not have much help currently and no proven quarterback to throw him the ball.
