K.J. Wright seeing big things with Seahawks’ top 2 picks
Jun 20, 2023, 2:29 PM
Jaxon Smith-Njigba after being taken 20th overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2023 NFL Draft. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks have the luxury of going into the 2023 season with not just one but two rookies they picked in the first round of the NFL Draft.
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Not all first-round picks reach their full potential, but at least for now, former Seahawks great K.J. Wright is buying into what No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon and No. 20 selection Jaxon Smith-Njigba are bringing to the table.
Here’s a look at what the former Pro Bowl linebacker had to say about the Seahawks’ top two rookies when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday for a special offseason edition of The K.J. Wright Show.
Top Seattle Seahawks pick Devon Witherspoon
Illinois product Witherspoon has the distinction of being not only the first cornerback taken in he first round by Seattle under current head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider, but also the highest overall draft pick this Seahawks regime has ever made. What Wright sees in his future is befitting a player of those accolades.
The final play of OTAs.@DevonWitherspo1 closed it out in style! 🥄 pic.twitter.com/aLLtGOJ7FT
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) June 14, 2023
“They’re going to get creative with this young man,” Wright said. “They’re going to put them at nickel (cornerback) some, he’s obviously going to be at (outside) corner, blitzing him off the edge, him matching up against (players like Los Angeles Rams All-Pro wide receiver) Cooper Kupp. Essentially, he can travel where your best guy is. ‘Hey, we’re facing (Buffalo Bills All-Pro receiver) Stefon Diggs. If he goes into the slot, you got him. If he goes on the outside, you got him. Cooper Kupp, you match up against this guy.’ He’s a rookie, going to have some learning (to do), but as he grows and develops, he’s going to be the guy.”
Seahawks first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Though Ohio State wide receiver Smith-Njigba was Seattle’s second pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, as a first-round selection he was picked higher than either half of the Hawks’ established star duo at the position of DK Metcalf (second round, 2019) and Tyler Lockett (third round, 2015). Wright thinks there is good reason for that.
“This dude is going to be the guy that for the next eight years, he’s going to be No. 11 for the Seattle Seahawks,” Wright said. “He’s going to be ‘the one.’ We’re talking about the next Doug (Baldwin), the next – I’m not gonna say Steve Largent, but you know, one of those guys. The next great Seahawks receiver. This is gonna be him.”
A great day to watch @jaxon_smith1 score some touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/D8IPddAIx2
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 30, 2023
Pretty high praise. Needless to say, Wright has a lot of confidence in what Smith-Njigba can do on the field.
“Just throw it his way. The man has glue for hands. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, good family.”
Listen to the whole K.J. Wright Show at this link or in the podcast below.
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