Jaxon Smith-Njigba becomes a diamond in Seahawks Week 9 lump of coal

This article could have been full of anger about how the Seattle Seahawks blew a 13-3 lead against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, and now Seattle is in last place in the NFC West after beginning the season 3-0. Don't worry. Those articles will come, but Week 9 was such an odd, frustrating, poorly officiated game that was full of brilliance and awfulness that let's do something a bit different.

Instead of focusing on how the Seahawks probably need to fully commit to rebuilding and making tough personnel changes, let's bring some light to some good things that happened versus the Rams. These things might help in the long term as well. Who knew, for instance, that Cody White could catch tough passes and block punts? He did against the Rams and he deserves more playing time.

But no Seattle player was as good as Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Sure, he caused quarterback Geno Smith's first interception, but that was the only thing JSN did wrong against the Rams. He finished with seven catches for a career-high 180 yards, two touchdowns, and averaged 25.7 yards per catch. While he was catching a bunch of passes in 2024, he appeared to not have much explosiveness. He was a small possession receiver only, it seemed.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is now a full-fledged Seahawks star

That would be a lie. JSN would have had over 200 yards receiving and many on explosive plays, if not for a holding call on one play. He was uncoverable by the Rams even though Los Angeles had to know that he was going to be a main target - likely the main target - with fellow receiver DK Metcalf missing the game with a knee injury.

Seattle's offense was once again inconsistent, and Geno Smith threw two horrible interceptions that truly were the reasons Seattle lost, but Smith-Njigba seemed immune to that. His excellence should also be repeatable. Once Metcalf returns, hopefully after the Week 10 bye week, he and JSN should be ready to become a top-three receiving duo in the league.

So, yes. Any hopes for Seattle to make the postseason are probably dashed. Seattle might need to make major changes this offseason. But Jaxon Smith-Njigba is going to be around for a while, and that is a very good thing for the Seahawks. Now, if Seattle could just find some offensive linemen who can pass-protect, things would be even better.

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