Wild review of Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba's rookie season misses the mark

Expecting most NFL wide receivers to be extremely productive in their rookie seasons is expecting too much. The position is one of the more difficult to transpose college success into immediate professional production. A lot depends on the player's scheme, quarterback talent, and the other receivers around him.

In the case of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he was almost automatically limited in his first year in what he would do because the Seattle Seahawks still had DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to take targets away from the rookie. Sure, Seattle threw the ball quite a bit, but early in the season, JSN's route tree seemed to be intentionally limited to rarely going beyond 10 yards.

Smith-Njigba also suffered a setback after a promising training camp as he broke a bone in his wrist during a preseason game. He made it back by Week 1, but he was not 100 percent healthy to start 2023 and he had missed valuable reps leading up to the first game. As the year grew old, though, he became a more trusted receiver including a game-winning touchdown catch against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba should be much more productive in his second season

In a recent ranking by ESPN's Bill Barnwell of each team's offensive skill-position players heading into 2024, the Seahawks are eighth. That is not a bad ranking, but before last year ESPN had Seattle at number four. Seattle has slipped even though almost all of the productive skill-position players return.

Barnwell undoubtedly knows football, and he is an expert at analytics. He does his research and does not speak off the cuff without facts backing up his claims. He is not infallible, though. In his write-up about the Seahawks, he gets JSN wrong.

For one, Barnwell says the rookie was drafted in 2023 "to be the replacement for (Tyler) Lockett in two-wideout sets..." That is true eventually, but not in JSN's rookie season. First, Lockett was still on the team and was productive. Secondly, Smith-Njigba's lack of high-end production in his rookie season doesn't mean he won't be good in year two and beyond.

Admittedly, Barnwell says it is "too early to be concerned," but then why have a pessimistic view of JSN in 2024? Barnwell added, "...(Smith-Njigba) wasn't able to immediately command a large share of the Seattle passing game." Again, that shouldn't have been the expectation in the receiver's rookie year with Metcalf and Lockett on the team.

JSN should be better simply because he is more experienced this season. The rapport between Geno Smith and JSN will be smoother as well. New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will put the receiver in better situations to succeed than former OC Shane Waldron did. Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be just fine and likely much more productive in his second season.

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