5 winners and losers from Seattle Seahawks 2023 training camp Week 1

Winner No. 2 - Seattle Seahawks Jaxon Smith-Njigba

OK, so I referenced Smith-Njigba back on page one of this article. The reason is that he looks like a complete freak of a receiver. While his 40 time wasn't Tyreke Hill-like before Seattle chose him in the draft, he somehow looks Jerry Rice-like in that he appears to be faster and quicker in pads than he is without them. Smith-Njigba is an extremely smooth route-runner and even when the hitting starts in camp and preseason, he will probably find a way of slithering through defensive backs.

The rave reviews about Smith-Njigba aren't just from silly people like me either. DK Metcalf said last week that the Ohio State product is "going to be special." This has been echoed by Tyler Lockett and Geno Smith and others. Smith-Njigba looks like a player who has been in the league for five years, not a rookie.

Smith-Njigba also doesn't appear held back by the hamstring injury that he struggled with in his last year in college. He only played in three games for Ohio State last year. But he runs now as if he has never been injured. As long as he remains healthy, he appears to be the kind of receiver that could be a WR1 or WR2 on most teams, so he could have an explosive season as an WR3 in Seattle this year.

But maybe that's what we should expect from a first-round pick and the first receiver taken in this offseason's draft. That said, Smith-Njigba already looks better than most expected and that is a very good thing.