1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba “is just one of a kind.”
When the Seahawks were in one-on-one drills, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a standout throughout this year’s camp, used a nifty move to get past fellow Pro-Bowler and 2023 first-round pick Devon Witherspoon for a touchdown catch. A few minutes later, his route running allowed Smith-Njigba to find a hole in the defense for a huge gain.
Seemingly every day, and with increasing frequency as he and Sam Darnold continue to build chemistry, Smith-Njigba has been making big plays in practice, and he’s also leaving a strong impression on his quarterback.
“He’s just one of a kind, just the way he can get in and out of routes, the shiftiness,” Darnold said. “For him, just the way he gets in and out of cuts, his speed, it’s really everything.”
Darnold then likened Smith-Njigba’s movements to that of a hockey player, a much more complementary description than when Mike Holmgren famously joked that Matt Hasselbeck looked like a giraffe on ice skates when describing his quarterback’s running style.
“I described the way that he moves as like a hockey player on ice,” Darnold said. “It feels like sometimes he’s just skating out there the way he can get in and out of cuts. Even not being on his team, I always felt like he was one of the best guys, run after the catch, in the NFL, so to see it in person, see it every single day during camp has been special.”