Joel Klatt: Jaxon Smith-Njigba Will 'Lead the League in Receptions' in First Few Years in NFL

Former Ohio State Buckeyes receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba recorded 110 receptions for 1,698 yards and 10 touchdowns in 23 career collegiate games.

The sample size for former Ohio State Buckeyes receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is pretty much limited to the 2021 season — the year in which he set single-season program records for both receptions and receiving yards.

His 95-catch, 1,606-yard and nine-touchdown season was capped off with an otherworldly Rose Bowl performance against Utah in which he hauled in 15 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns.

Fox Sports color commentator Joel Klatt said on "The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast" April 11 that whoever selects Smith-Njigba will get similar production from him in the NFL. He projected Smith-Njibga to link back up with C.J. Stroud with the Houston Texans.

"This guy is going to lead the league in receptions at some point in his first three or four years. If an offensive coordinator is worth their soul at all, I think he has 75 catches as a rookie," Klatt said. "If he's got a great quarterback, which in this instance it would be a rookie in C.J. Stroud, so I don't think he would get to the mark that I'm about to say. But, let's just say, sake of argument, Smith-Njigba goes to some place with a veteran quarterback. I think he'd have 90 catches in his first year. He's that good."

Jaxon Smith-Njigba and C.J. Stroud reunited in the NFL??@JoelKlatt thinks that's a possibility 👀🌰 pic.twitter.com/UYcyPGFztw

— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) April 11, 2023

Smith-Njigba wowed NFL scouts and analysts alike with his combine and pro day performances. He set combine highs with a 3.93-second 20-yard shuttle and a 6.57-second three-cone drill, running a 4.48-second 40-yard dash at Ohio State's Pro Day.

Klatt said that doesn't concern him, saying people might be "sleeping" on Smith-Njigba.

"You're getting a guy specifically that's not just the teammate of C.J. Stroud, but he's also a guy that I think is the best wide receiver in the draft," Klatt said. "I don't care what he ran. I really don't. If you're hung up on what Jaxon Smith-Njigba ran in the 40, I think you're thinking about the wrong things."

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