Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Takeaways: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Deep WR Group Sizzles

Capping off a productive first week of camp, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a plethora of receivers put on a show in the final practice before pads come out.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba awaits the snap during a drill at Seahawks training camp at the VMAC. / Corbin Smith/All Seahawks

RENTON, Wash. - Featuring plenty of star power with perennial 1,000-yard receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett at the top of the depth chart, the rest of the Seattle Seahawks talented wideout corps continued to flex their muscles in Saturday's fourth training camp practice.

Led by sophomore sensation Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who put on a clinic getting open throughout Saturday's session, the Seahawks had several of their complementary targets enjoy strong afternoons. For his part, building off a fantastic offseason program, the second-year receiver out of Ohio State hauled in a touchdown on a perfectly thrown dime from Geno Smith on the opening red zone period and later added a pair of 30-plus yard completions where he found the soft spot in the coverage on corner routes from the slot.

Away from Smith-Njigba, Dareke Young caught a back shoulder fade from Smith for six points in the red zone and Jake Bobo found the end zone twice, making an impressive arms extended grab from Smith in 7-on-7 and capping off practice with a scoring reception from backup Sam Howell in the back of the end zone to draw cheers from fans nestled in front of the team facility. Veterans Dee Eskridge, Easop Winston Jr., and Cody White got in on the act with their best days of camp, developing a rapport with Howell and snagging four touchdowns in red zone periods.

While there's still plenty to work on early in camp for one of the team's strongest units, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has been thrilled with what he's seen thus far from a talented receiving corps loaded with quality players competing for roster spots.

"Making a lot of plays on the perimeter. It's great to see," Macdonald said. "Everybody's touching the ball. I was just talking to the quarterbacks today. Trust the system, trust your reads, feel the spacing of the defense with what we're giving you and the explosive plays will come. The guys are making plays. There's a couple drops here and there, so we're chasing that. I'm sure [coach] Fris [Jackson] will have a litany of things to give you that they want to work on, but I'm pleased that the guys are high-pointing the ball and catching back shoulder throws and things like that. It's exciting to see."

Looking back at Seattle's final camp practice before busting out the pads on Monday, here are four additional takeaways from the VMAC:

1. Smith continues to sizzle to open camp, while Howell made strides after a rough couple of days.

Deep into the process of learning a new offense under coordinator Ryan Grubb, the gap between Smith and Howell has only widened in the first week of camp, making it clear as day who the best quarterback on Seattle's roster is. The biggest thus far has been accuracy, where Smith has been consistently putting the ball on the money for his receivers at all levels of the field and Howell has airmailed several throws to another zip code in the early going, looking far from comfortable.

Though he found himself under a bit more pressure with Macdonald's defense sending five or more rushers more often than they did in the first three days, Smith continued to spin it on Saturday, demonstrating a lightning quick release and elite accuracy dropping deep balls into the hands of his receivers. Most notably, his connection with Smith-Njigba keeps growing stronger, as the two were dialed in all practice long, particularly on downfield corner routes where the quarterback displayed excellent touch dropping the ball into the bucket for his young receiver.

For the third time in four days, Smith didn't throw an interception either, and didn't even have any close calls on Saturday. He's been in complete command and making smart decisions, rarely putting the ball in harms way and efficiently throwing the ball downfield when opportunity strikes.

As for Howell, the third-year signal caller deserves credit for bouncing back some after a challenging practice on Friday where he misfired on several potential touchdowns in the red zone period. He was far from perfect on Saturday, including overthrowing two open receivers in the first red zone segment, but he started to find a rhythm as the practice progressed and threw touchdowns to Bobo and tight end Jack Westover to finish strong, hopefully providing momentum for continued improvement going into next week.

2. It's only practice, but Grubb has backup his words by making a concerted effort to get Noah Fant more involved in the passing game.

Despite having elite athleticism and soft hands for the position, Fant's first two years with the Seahawks largely disappointed from a production standpoint, including catching no touchdowns in 17 games in 2023. But the front office believed those numbers weren't a reflection of his talent and after hiring Grubb as the new play caller, general manager John Schneider made re-signing the former first round pick a priority, handing him a two-year, $21 million deal on the premise he would be far more impactful in a new offense.

Until games start up in September, it remains to be seen whether or not that promise will be fulfilled, but early signs have been quite encouraging. In the first three practices, Fant came open in the flats for quick dump off touchdowns in the red zone twice, showing how easy it should be to scheme him open and get him involved more often inside the opposing 20-yard line.

Jul 27, 2024; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) during training camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

In Saturday's session, while Fant didn't score any touchdowns, Smith hooked up with him for a trio of first down receptions, hitting him in stride twice on crossing routes and firing a dart on the money on a curl route to move the chains. Per Macdonald, the Seahawks don't have a set number of targets they will be looking to get Fant, but they are excited to see how he's already meshing in Grubb's offense and how his presence can open things up for the rest of their receivers.

"We're really excited about Noah and the type of player that he is," Macdonald remarked. "I love his attitude everyday. It's just steadfast, positive, a sense of urgency about what he's doing. And then when he's out there making plays, you can feel that the process is coming to life and you're excited for him that there's results on the field, so we want that to keep trending in the right direction."

3. After a somewhat slow start to his first camp, Byron Murphy II starts to find some life with padded practices incoming.

Being a first-round pick with lofty expectations, all eyes have been zeroed in on Murphy since camp opened on Wednesday. But in the first three days of practice, he had yet to make any splashy plays, at least in terms of penetrating the backfield and positioning himself for sacks or tackles for loss when tackling isn't yet allowed.

However, Murphy started to make his presence felt in Saturday's session, starting in the first red zone period when matched up against fellow rookie Christian Haynes. Rocketing out of his 3-point stance, the rookie defender fired his hands into the blocker's frame and then executed a filthy swim move that drew oohh's and aahh's from the crowd, leaving Haynes lunging for air as he promptly slipped past him and closed in on Howell, likely setting himself up for a sack if he could hit the quarterback.

On two other occasions, Murphy used his quick first step to shoot a gap and rip past a blocker to close in on the quarterback, showcasing his burst and disruptive capabilities as a pass rusher. With the pads coming out on Monday, Macdonald is eager to see the youngster build off his best practice so far and see how he responds with a chance to finally get physical in the trenches.

"Murph had a slower couple days than he wanted to out there to start out, but he's bounced back and he's making a lot of plays out there. Initially, you think more of a B-gap type of player, but being able to move inside and out from the A-gap all the way out, I think if he keeps staying on this progression you could see him at any one of those spots."

4. A versatile veteran and unheralded undrafted rookie steal the show in the secondary.

During his time with the Ravens as defensive coordinator, Macdonald loved to mix in three-safety personnel groupings in nickel and dime sets, sometimes playing as many as eight defensive backs on the field at the same time. In the early stages of camp, players such as K'Von Wallace, who has played extensive snaps at both safety positions as well as slot cornerback in his career, have been pleading with the first-time coach to deploy more DB-heavy groupings.

"I just told the guys today - they're begging for multiple DB and getting eight guys out there - well, we've done it before," Macdonald smiled. "But it's up to you guys. If you earn the spot and that's gonna put us in the best position to make a play, then that's what we'll do."

Playing in his first training camp with the Seahawks, Wallace seemed to take those words to heart, actively disrupting plays all afternoon while logging snaps all over the field. Along with a pass breakup, a quick pressure as a blitzer, and snuffing out a screen, he put himself in the perfect position at the perfect time settling in the middle of the end zone, picking off Howell as he tried to thread the needle looking for White along the back out of bounds line.

"I think his words were 'Alright, bet,'" Macdonald said, drawing laughs from reporters.

Along with Wallace turning heads, a newcomer in the secondary continues to make plays for the Seahawks in undrafted rookie Dee Williams, who opened camp wearing a blue offensive player jersey working with receivers. Starting on Friday, he switched over to cornerback, his original position where he earned All-American honors as JUCO standout before transferring to Tennessee, where he emerged as one of the SEC's most dynamic kick and punt returners.

With more of an opportunity for snaps on defense, Williams has made the most of limited playing time over the past two days, frequently coming through with big plays on Saturday. He slipped past a block on a screen to wrap up DK Metcalf during the first team session and later made a fantastic pass breakup in coverage against Laviska Shenault in the end zone, swatting the ball away along the sideline, standing out for Macdonald at his "new" position.

"It was really just to give him another opportunity to get on the field corner-wise," Macdonald said. "Wasn't getting a lot of reps at receiver. But I think the game is more natural to him on the defensive side, he's got really good movement ability. We'll see as it evolves here, but pleased with what we've seen since the switch to defense and he's an All-American JUCO corner, so he's familiar with that position moreso than wideout."