Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will have his work cut out for him in 2026 with several matchups against elite cornerbacks on the team’s schedule.

Smith-Njigba is the reigning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year award winner. He led the NFL in receiving yards last season with 1,793 and will garner an immense amount of attention from opposing secondaries next season.

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Pro Football Focus outlined seven marquee matchups for Smith-Njigba next season against Christian Gonzalez, Patrick Surtain, Jaylon Johnson, Quinyon Mitchell, Trent McDuffie and Jaycee Horn.

Smith-Njigba will begin next season in a home opener against the same cover corner he defeated in the Super Bowl last season. Gonzalez is a former second-team All-Pro honoree from 2024. He helped the New England Patriots hold Smith-Njigba to 27 receiving yards in the Super Bowl.

Surtain will be as daunting a challenge as there is for “JSN” in Week 6 against the Denver Broncos. The Florida native won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024 and was second-team All-Pro in 2025. He allowed only one receiving touchdown last season.

Johnson was limited to seven games played last season for the Chicago Bears, but was still able to record an interception on the year. JSN will have to come prepared against Johnson’s Bears in Week 8.

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Mitchell was a first-team All-Pro honoree in 2025. His catch rate allowed (42.4 percent) ranked No. 1 in the league among all cornerbacks last season. Mitchell will present a challenge for Smith-Njigba in the Seahawks’ matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.

Smith-Njigba has two matchups against Seattle’s NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, in Weeks 16 and 18 of next season. Unlike last season, Smith-Njigba will need to prepare for new Rams CB and two-time All-Pro honoree Trent McDuffie, who will create the marquee matchup of both games that come with major playoff implications at the end of the season.

Sandwiched in between both games against the Rams will be a matchup against Horn and the Carolina Panthers in Week 17. Smith-Njigba will get no rest down the stretch of the year, as he’s slated to face a cornerback in Horn who finished second in the NFL in interceptions last season with five.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Jaxon Smith-Njigba in for 7 marquee matchups vs. top CBs in 2026