Jaxon Smith-Njigba 'Building Confidence' in Seattle Seahawks Explosive New Offense

Benefiting from continuity at quarterback, a leaner, stronger Jaxon Smith-Njigba turned heads at the Seahawks offseason program, looking poised for a star turn in 2024.

Oct 22, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) catches a pass during pregame warmups prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

RENTON, Wash. - Super Bowl champions aren't crowned in May or June, but offseason practices remain critical specifically for the development of young players, especially for teams breaking in a new coaching staff as the Seattle Seahawks have done this spring.

With brand new schemes on offense and defense being installed since mid-April, Mike Macdonald and his staff have emphasized details throughout the Seahawks OTA and minicamp sessions, spending extensive time walking through concepts and techniques on the practice field before cutting players loose. Some players have taken to the new systems faster than others, and nobody has hit the ground running faster than receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who likely would be voted as the team's offseason MVP by his peers.

Now in his second season in Seattle, Smith-Njigba has shined throughout the offseason program, spending much of his time snagging touchdowns in the end zone. Aside from scoring three times in the team's final minicamp practice on Wednesday, he put six points on the practice scoreboard seven times in an open OTA last month, making fantasy owners salivate as reports trickled out of the Pacific Northwest on social media.

While such performances should be taken with a grain of salt given the rule restrictions eliminating contact and preventing defenders from playing the football in coverage, Smith-Njigba has looked like a different player in Ryan Grubb's aggressive offense, impressing teammates and coaches alike.

“Every day I feel like my confidence is building," Smith-Njigba told reporters prior to Wednesday's minicamp practice. "Even if I don't score seven touchdowns, I try to tell the guys good days, bad days, mediocre days, which we can't really have, which we don't want to have, but we have to use those days and just build to get better and not every day is going to be like that. Not every day is going to be perfect, but I can use every day to challenge myself and to be better the next day.”

Like the rest of his teammates, Smith-Njigba has had to deal with the growing pains that come with learning a new system. Moving around more pre-snap than he did as a rookie with more emphasis on the downfield passing game, mastering new routes and terminology remains a work in progress for everyone with six weeks until training camp opens.

But as Smith-Njigba noted before Wednesday's final practice, he and his fellow receivers have benefited immensely from continuity on the offensive side of the football, starting at the quarterback position with Geno Smith back under center.

Out of the gate as a rookie, Smith-Njigba got off to a somewhat slow start last fall, and a fractured wrist suffered in the preseason didn't help the situation. Though he didn't miss any games because of the injury, he admitted playing with a cast for a few games may have impacted his production, and he only caught 12 passes for 62 yards in his first four games.

But after the Seahawks bye week, Smith-Njigba quickly started to become a bigger part of Seattle's aerial game, developing rapport on the fly with Smith. He caught his first two NFL touchdowns in successive wins over the Cardinals and Browns in Week 7 and Week 8, with the latter coming in the closing minute to seal a 24-20 victory at Lumen Field.

Dec 24, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) catches a pass for a first down before being tackled by Tennessee Titans safety Mike Brown (44) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Surpassing 60 receptions and 600 receiving yards with two game-winning touchdown catches, Smith-Njigba did most of his damage in the last 13 games, posting 51 catches for 566 yards with four scores following the bye. With another offseason under his belt to continue developing chemistry with Smith, his confidence has only grown, and he feels he now can be more vocal with his quarterback communicating about what he sees on the field.

“Just having a whole season with Geno, going into year two, our communication is better," Smith-Njigba explained. "Some guys you can get on them, you can't get on them. And our communication and what he wants from me is more clear than ever. And me being a year two guy, we had a talk yesterday where I can use my voice and tell him, ‘Hey, this is what I'm seeing.’ With that comes time and growth and it's been great so far. Just want to build on that and be the best we can.”

Reflecting on his rookie season and looking towards the future, Smith-Njigba felt he needed to get stronger and faster this offseason, prioritizing his efforts on hitting the weight room and adding a bit more burst to his game to help create separation as a route runner. All of that work showed up over the past two months on the practice field with him standing out as the most improved player on the roster, at least by OTA and minicamp standards.

In Grubb's offense that features three and four-wideout sets, Smith-Njigba's full skill set should be better accentuated with him attacking opponents in the middle of the field running routes from the slot, particularly on intermediate and deep crossers, which he has cooked defenders on throughout the spring. But he's also grown more comfortable playing outside at the X and Z spots as well and he's made plenty of impressive receptions on the practice field from the boundary, demonstrating his all-around talents getting open against a loaded cornerback group.

Additionally, Smith-Njigba's tackle-breaking ability after the catch should also lead to opportunities to do damage in the screen game, an element he successfully brought to the Seahawks offense last year that had been missing for some time.

If the past month and change serves as any indication, Smith-Njigba should be poised to take a star turn in his sophomore season, potentially taking the torch from Tyler Lockett as Smith's go-to high volume target. But after turning heads in OTAs and minicamp, the young receiver isn't worried about individual stats and his sole focus remains on doing whatever he needs to do to help the Seahawks win football games after missing the playoffs a year ago, which has ate at him since the season ended.

“For me personally, I felt like it was a good foundation. I can grow from it. A lot of growing pains, a lot of ups and downs, but kind of similar from first years of college and in high school. Kind of the same thing. I look forward going into the second year after completing a good offseason and training camp and just going on from that. But last year, not making the playoffs and not winning as many games as we wanted to, that didn't sit well with me and so I'm looking for change this year.”