The Seattle Seahawks are 10-3, having won double-digit games for two straight seasons, and have a roster that is loaded with young talent with some excellent veteran leaders sprinkled in. Two of the young stars are Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Nick Emmanwori. One might be helping the other succeed.
JSN is in his third season with the team, and while he proved to the NFL what he could do last season by having 1,130 receiving yards, he has exploded this year. He leads the league in receiving yards (1,428) through 13 games. He is second in touchdown receptions (9).
But he didn't have the kind of rookie season that Emmanwori is having, albeit at a different position. As a rookie, JSN was ill-used by former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and only had 628 yards receiving. Emmanwori, though, was expected to be a versatile disruptor when Seattle chose him in the second round of the 2025 draft, and he has not disappointed.
Seattle Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba drops some truth about his relationship with Nick Emmanwori
One reason for his success: Smith-Njigba's constant trash talking in practice, specifically directed at the young safety. But it is not meant to demean the rookie, but simply to help him stay focused and toughen him up a bit.
After the Seahawks' 37-9 Week 14 victory against the Atlanta Falcons, the wide receiver was asked about first lining up across from the rookie in practice, and Smith-Njigba provided far more than a one-sentence answer. He broke down the entire relationship he has with Emmanwori.
JSN said, "I talk a lot of crap to Nick. I talk a lot of crap all year. He's been my rookie that I've kind of been picking on, but I tell him he could be a legend. Mike Macdonald is going to have him in a great spot to play fast, and we all know that. I'm on him until probably next year, and then I'll probably still probably be talking a lot more crap next year. But yeah, that's the guy I kind of pick on and talk smack to on defense. He's a great player."
Luckily for the Seattle Seahawks, both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Nick Emmanwori appear to be great players. They should also call Lumen Field home for the foreseeable future. JSN is in his third season, but the team holds a fifth-year option on the receiver because he was a first-round pick in 2023. He will likely be signed to a long-term extension after that.
Emmanwori is signed through 2028, and while Seattle doesn't have a fifth-round option on him, it wouldn't be surprising, as well as he is already playing, if the Seahawks extend the rookie before the final year of his deal. He and Smith-Njigba should be Seahawks for much of the next decade at least.