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(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks have seen Jaxon Smith‑Njigba blossom into to a No. 1 receiver this season. Moreover, he’s stepped up in their two playoff win over the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams to reach the Super Bowl.
Smith-Njigba posted 119 catches for 1,793 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in 17 games this season, per StatMuse. Meanwhile, in the players, the Seahawks’ young star is also producing, recording 13 catches for 172 yards and has scored two touchdowns in two games in the 2025 playoffs, per StatMuse.
As a result, if the New England Patriots want to beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, they’ll need to keep Smith‑Njigba quiet. Nonetheless, former Patriots wideout Danny Amendola explains what makes the Seahawks star a special player.
“This kid is like a human joystick,” Amendola said about Smith‑Njigba during a Feb. 2 appearance on “First Things First.” “He can shift. He doesn’t really have to change his levels when he’s running routes. So everything looks very consistent, and he can weave in and out of routes, and he has great ball skills. This guy is a tremendous young receiver. He’s the type of guy that you can tell is going to be in the NFL for a long time.
“He’s already a professional, and he’s making big plays. I’m excited for him. These guys played in a lot of big games coming out of college. Then this year, he’s been lights out, and it’s just another thing for him this week. It’s going to be the biggest game of his career. I think he’s played on these stages before. This one will be a little bigger, but the kid’s ready to go.”
Maxx Crosby Doesn’t Hold Back on JSN
The rise to being the No. 1 guy in Seattle hasn’t gone unnoticed by Smith-Njigba’s peers around the league. Las Vegas Raiders standout Maxx Crosby didn’t hold back his thoughts on the Seahawks star.
“I feel that JSN is unreal,“ Crosby said in a Jan. 28 video from The Rush Podcast. “He’s had a crazy year, bro. He’s been going nuclear, and clearly they knew in that front office how good he was by letting DK go and Tyler Locket go, and just seeing him explode into being that number one receiver that clearly they saw him being. You got to give them a lot of credit, too.”
Seahawks’ JSN Shares Likely Mindset for Super Bowl
Smith-Njigba recorded 10 receptions for 153 receiving yards and one touchdown against the Rams. In the tightly contested matchup against the Rams, the Seahawks had their best players step up with so much on the line.
After the win, the Seattle standout spoke with FOX Sports and shared the mindset he had heading into the NFC title game, a mindset that will surely carry over to the Super Bowl as Smith-Njigba is one win away from a championship.
“I told my team, ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes. Whatever you all ask for me, I’m going to get it done. Whatever that might be,‘” Smith-Njigba said postgame. “And that’s what you saw today. You just saw grit, determination. You saw passion out there, and you saw a group, a collective, going out there and getting the job done.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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