Jaxon Smith-Njigba was always built to be the No. 1 wide receiver on whatever team he played for in the NFL, that’s what happens when you come from Ohio State, which has been a receiver factory in the NFL. But for the first two years of his NFL career, he had to take a backseat to DK Metcalf, who dominated the targets.
After Smith-Njigba erupted for a career high 1,130 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns, Seattle knew they needed to make him the focal point of the offense. But that wasn’t going to work with Metcalf still in the fold. Which is why their offseason move to send Metcalf to the east coast in Pittsburgh turned out to be one of the best moves for them.
Now, seven games into being the No. 1 threat on the Seahawks explosive offense, he’s arguably on a better trajectory than Metcalf was. Here’s just how destructive Smith-Njigba has been for Seattle this season and how his first three seasons compares to Metcalf’s and why a move was necessary.
Metcalf vs. Smith-Njigba: Were the Seahawks right to choose one over the other?
You could argue the Seahawks offense would be bulletproof if they retained Metcalf while also having Smith-Njigba as their top two receivers, but truthfully, it was never going to work out like you think. You could turn to what Cincinnati did with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but then you’ll see all the holes on that team and why they’re barely staying relevant in the playoff conversation.
The Seahawks chose one over the other because they knew they couldn’t pay both while getting an upgrade at quarterback and keeping the rest of the team competitive. And if we’re being honest, offloading Metcalf was the smarter move. Not only is Smith-Njigba younger, but his ceiling is looking higher than Metcalf’s. This is just a comparison of each player's first three seasons.
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA | DK METCALF | |
|---|---|---|
YEAR 1 | ||
RECEPTIONS | 63 | 58 |
RECEIVING YARDS | 628 | 900 |
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS | 4 | 7 |
YEAR 2 | ||
RECEPTIONS | 100 | 83 |
RECEIVING YARDS | 1,130 | 1,303 |
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS | 6 | 10 |
YEAR 3* | ||
RECEPTIONS | 50 | 75 |
RECEIVING YARDS | 819 | 967 |
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS | 4 | 12 |
*Jaxon Smith Njigba is in his third year so his stats only reflect the first seven games of the 2025 season.
While their numbers are nearly identical, the most glaring difference is in Metcalf’s third season, he had 967 yards, playing in all 17 games. For Smith-Njigba, he’s the NFL’s leading receiver with 819 yards and we’re just seven games into the season. He’s on pace to shatter Metcalf’s third season numbers and surpass Metcalf’s 1,303-yard season in 2020, his career high.
The Seahawks never would have found out how destructive Smith-Njigba would be as the focal point of the offense if they kept Metcalf. Either egos or lack of production would have frustrated one and it would have ultimately affected the whole team. It was a brilliant move to keep Smith-Njigba and if he continues to trend upward, could end up being in the same conversation as Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s meteoric rise this season is proof the Seahawks are in good hands
Smith-Njigba isn’t quite at the level of Chase and Jefferson just yet, but he’s certainly playing like he deserves to be in the conversation. Jefferson and Chase immediately came into the NFL as unstoppable forces. Because Smith-Njigba was the second option on his team to start his NFL career, he just hasn’t had the chance to rise to that same level. This season, he’s proving why he’s more talented than we realized.
WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 | WEEK 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RECEPTIONS | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
RECEIVING YARDS | 124 | 103 | 96 | 79 | 132 | 162 | 123 |
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
At Ohio State, Smith-Njigba’s best season was in 2021 when he erupted for 1,606 yards and 13 touchdowns. Though his last year, injuries kept him out for most of the season, he was able to carry the momentum from his 2021 season into the NFL Draft. Now that he’s in the NFL, he’s reminding everybody of how good he was that one season at Ohio State.
This season, along with torching the Houston Texans for 123 receiving yards, he’s recorded 100 or more receiving yards in every game this year except for two and he has a touchdown reception in four of his seven games played. The real test will be when he faces a secondary good enough to lock him up.
He hasn’t played an elite secondary yet this year, though I don’t want to take anything away from the best start to a season in his young career. If he shines even against the best defenses, it will show why the Seahawks believed in him after last season. For Sam Darnold, this is probably deja vu from playing with Jefferson a season ago in Minnesota. It might have been the best quarterback-receiver combo we never saw coming.