The Seattle Seahawks had a magical 2025 season, winning the Super Bowl and seeing multiple players break out, including Sam Darnold.

But the most notable individual season came from Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who put together one of the best WR seasons in NFL history, winning Offensive Player of the Year, and being the leader of the offense for Seattle in 2025.

While not directly what led to his breakout, the Seahawks Director of Equipment, Erik Kennedy, revealed on Seattle Sports 710 that Smith-Njigba’s cleat size went down a good bit from college to the pros, and it helped cut down on his injury issues. 

Seahawks changed JSN’s cleat size for health reasons, and it worked

“In college, he was wearing a size 12 and had hamstring issues,” Kennedy said. “Gets here, he’s a 10 and a half, wears a 10 and a half… It’s helped him; he hasn’t missed time, it’s done things like that.”

Smith-Njigba was wearing size 12 cleats during his collegiate days at Ohio State. But when he came to the NFL, the Seahawks used foot-scanning technology to get him fitted with a better-sized shoe.

Despite having hamstring issues in college, Smith-Njigba has put those problems behind him, thanks in part to the change in shoe size.

More: Seahawks extend Jaxon Smith-Njigba to record-setting $168.6 million deal

JSN recorded 119 receptions for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns in a 17-game season. While Sam Darnold, Klint Kubiak, and the offensive line and other weapons are a big reason for his success, Kennedy and the new cleats played a part as well.

The Seahawks saw Smith-Njigba break out in a major way this past season, as he was named an All-Pro and the Offensive Player of the Year after a breakout season.

Kennedy’s help with finding Smith-Njigba’s right shoe size, downsizing him 1.5 sizes, helped him put the hamstring issues behind him and play all 17 games this past season.

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