Seattle Seahawks 2023 Mock Draft: Post-Geno Smith re-signing

Seahawks choose Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State in round 1 at pick 20

If you are going to commit to Geno Smith and believe that he can lead you to a championship in the final years of Pete Carroll’s career, then the Seahawks need to not only commit to improving the defense but also putting the most dominant offense on the field as possible. The game is changing. While a great defense is massively important to succeeding, the Super Bowl showed us the level of offense needed to win it all. Seattle’s offensive line needs a new center to quarterback the O-line calls (we’ll get there), but they also need to overwhelm Geno with passing options. Enter Smith-Njigba.

Smith-Njigba was the best receiver in college football in 2021, the greatest performance in Rose Bowl history, and clearly the most polished route runner in this draft. He may not be the fastest receiver in this class, but that doesn’t matter when his instincts, footwork and initial bursts helped him to reach 95 catches, 1,600 yards, and 9 touchdowns in 13 games his sophomore season. While I’d still like to see a 40 time at his pro day, Smith-Njigba put on an incredible performance at the combine, putting up some of the best numbers ever in the 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drill.

This guy literally changes directions on a dime. The selection of Smith-Njigba should help bring some youth to a receiving core that is lacking in that area minus DK and the ghost of D’Wayne Eskridge. A receiving group of DK, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba, paired with potential free agent veterans like Marquise Goodwin or Robert Woods, would give Seattle a top 5 WR group in the league.