What makes Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba so hard to defend

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is in a league of his own right now.

The Seattle Seahawks star wideout has an NFL-leading 867 receiving yards and eight touchdowns this season, which makes him the first player in the Super Bowl era to hit both of those marks through his team’s first seven games.

‘Unguardable’ JSN outpacing his historic 2025

Smith-Njigba has 216 more receiving yards than any other player in the NFL this season. And he’s even outpacing his clip from last year, when he finished eighth on the league’s single-season receiving list with a 1,793-yard campaign.

What makes the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year so difficult for opposing defenses to slow down?

After Smith-Njigba hauled in nine catches for 150 yards and a TD in Seattle’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, Seahawks three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon provided some insight on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” postgame show.

As Witherspoon explained, the 6-foot, 197-pound Smith-Njigba has a rare ability to make every route look the same, without giving away any indicators.

“It’s so hard to guard him, because you don’t get any indication on what he’s about to do,” Witherspoon said. “Like, you don’t understand how frustrating that is as a corner. … When a guy don’t give you no indicators, it’s like, ‘Coach, what do you want me to do?'”

Witherspoon’s comments echoed what Seahawks safety Julian Love said on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this summer.

“Jaxon is one of those guys who can run full speed, and cut full speed, and stay at the same level,” Love said. “It’s a superpower. His style is very unassuming if you’re watching from the sidelines. He has no indicators if he’s gonna break in or break out. Everything’s on the table.”

Smith-Njigba has 2,660 receiving yards in 24 regular-season games since the start of 2025. That’s 460 more than any other player in the league.

“He’s just the best,” Witherspoon said. “He’s the best in the world. It ain’t even close.”

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