Jaxon Smith-Njigba is doing something no NFL receiver has since Jerry Rice
Many expected Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to join the ranks of the NFL's best pass-catchers this season, but even the most optimistic pundits probably didn't expect this.
A third of the way through the season, Smith-Njigba, 23, has been arguably the best receiver in the entire NFL. The former Ohio State superstar has 42 receptions for a league-leading 696 yards and three touchdowns, with his 16.6 yards per reception putting him on a historically great pace.
In fact, Smith-Njigba's efficiency is unlike anything the league has seen in decades, not since the prime of the greatest receiver of all time: Jerry Rice.
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"[Sam] Darnold's deep passing prowess has unlocked former first-round pick wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba as a result: Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 696 yards receiving this season with 42 catches, tied for the fifth-most in the league this year, on 56 targets, tied for the fifth-most in the league this year," CBS Sports' Garrett Podell wrote. "The last player with as many receiving on that low of a target total through six games was the receiving GOAT Jerry Rice in 1986 with 723 yards receiving on 55 targets, per CBS Sports Research."
For any receiver, being in the same sentence as Rice - who actually ended his career as a Seahawk in 2004 - is an incredible honor, but in Smith-Njigba's case, it really sells just how outstanding he's been.
Not only has he been incredibly productive, but he has been the focal point of Seattle's offense and allowed Darnold to continue thriving after a career-year with the Minnesota Vikings. He's a workhorse receiver and a deep threat all in one, making him an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses.
Could the Seahawks do a better job of supporting him? Perhaps. Other receiving options such as Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton and tight end AJ Barner, have been solid, but Smith-Njigba still has over a third of the team's targets so far (56 out of 154, or 36.4 percent).
However, when Smith-Njigba has been so absurdly dominant through the early part of the season, it's hard to complain about much of anything on offense.
Former 3rd Round Pick Named Chiefs’ ‘Most Surprising’ Roster Cut
The Kansas City Chiefs had to make the tough decision to whittle their roster down to 53 players earlier this week, and not all the cuts that occurred were clear and foreseeable to keen-eyed observers.
Breaking from standard practice, the team is currently only carrying 3 safeties on their active roster; 2024 fourth round pick, Jaden Hicks; 2022 second rounder, Bryan Cook; and 2023 fourth rounder, Chamarri Conner, with Mike Edwards the odd-man-out in the position group
And Jesse Newell of The Athletic believed that this was fairly unexpected and called it the Chiefs’ biggest surprise cutdown.
Mike Edwards Cut From Chiefs Roster ‘Suprising’
Newell believed that the coaching staff’s previously stated admiration for Edwards, along with his connection to the senior defensive assistant through his college days, makes him a borderline shocking omission from the final roster.
“Edwards, a seventh-year safety, has a lot of supporters in the Chiefs’ offices.” Newell wrote on Sunday, “That includes defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo — he has shared his admiration for Edwards’ ball-hawking abilities — and also senior defensive assistant Matt House, who was Edwards’ defensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky. Knowing all that, it was surprising the Chiefs cut the 29-year-old Edwards.
The Athletic’s Chiefs writer expressed that one of the core reasons behind this comes their belief in and desire to build up younger, versatile talents in the unit.
“That doesn’t mean Edwards won’t eventually be back on Kansas City’s practice squad, but the move still seems to signal the Chiefs have confidence in some younger players at safety, including cornerback/safety hybrids Chamarri Conner and Chris Roland-Wallace.”
What Do The Chiefs Look Like At Safety?
Bryan Cook is already a fairly established starter, whilst Jaden Hicks will look to take over the second safety position vacated by Justin Reid, who left for the New Orleans Saints in free agency back in March.
And whilst Kansas City are in a unique spot in that they only have three listed safeties on the roster, they do another player in nickel back, Chris Roland Wallace, who can cover at the position.
The team also have, in emergency situations, All-Pro Trent McDuffie, who is also capable at playing some snaps in that same role; a role that many thought he could ultimately end up playing in the pros when he came out of Washington in 2022.
Edwards is certainly a competent, experienced player at the position, and back in 2023 he started five games for the team and played a role in all 17.
But now entering his age-29 season, Edwards is not getting any younger, and it is not shocking that the Chiefs’ defensive coaches, who have cultivated an excellent secondary year-in, year-out, out of mid-round picks on rookie contracts, have gone with their rising talents over veteran entering his seventh year in the NFL.
