Seattle Seahawks' JSN beating defenses in 'every way'

Every week, opposing defenses center their game plan on trying to slow down Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

And yet, the Seattle Seahawks star wideout just keeps charging ahead at a historic pace.

Smith-Njigba has a league-leading 1,313 receiving yards, which are the second-most by any player in the Super Bowl era through his team’s first 11 games of the season, according to Stathead.

3 numbers that matter as Seahawks’ JSN chases NFL history

Smith-Njigba is on pace to break the NFL’s single-season receiving yardage record and become the league’s first-ever 2,000-yard receiver. He already broke the Seahawks’ franchise single-season receiving mark last week – with six games still to play. And he’s the only player in NFL history to open a season with 11 consecutive games of 75-plus receiving yards.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, while making his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, used a baseball analogy to describe Smith-Njigba’s jaw-dropping campaign.

“You can play your no-doubles defense. You can try and hug the line. You can play deep on guys,” Jeremiah said. “Like, no matter what you do, you’re wrong against him, because he’s beating you every way.”

‘I don’t know what you’re supposed to do’

The numbers certainly bear that out.

According to Pro Football Focus, Smith-Njigba has a league-high 885 receiving yards against zone coverage. He also has 326 yards against man coverage, which is second-most in NFL.

Smith-Njigba has a league-high 614 yards on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. But he also ranks second in the league with 405 yards on passes thrown 10-19 yards downfield, and 10th in the league with 283 yards on passes thrown 0-9 yards downfield.

WHAT. A. TOUCHDOWN. 63 YARDS. @jaxon_smith1

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/QAThIMNY9B

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 23, 2025

And while Smith-Njigba has done most of his damage on the outside – where he’s lined up for 82% of his snaps – he’s also averaging a league-high 3.93 yards per route run from the slot, according to PFF.

“No matter where he lines up, you have to account for everything,” Jeremiah said. “He’s going to get vertical from the outside. He can get vertical from the slot. He can beat you off his release, off the line of scrimmage, (where you) put a slant on his chest and let him run with it.

“And I don’t know what you’re supposed to do,” he added. “I mean, if you’re going to try and help over the top, he’s going to eat you up in those up-and-down throws in the middle of the field. So it’s a really complete performance by him.”

Darnold also deserves credit

Jeremiah also praised quarterback Sam Darnold for his role in Smith-Njigba’s historic season.

Darnold has a league-high 65% completion rate on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield – including 19 “big-time throws” and only one “turnover-worthy play” on those passes, according to PFF.

“You don’t have receiving numbers like this without a quarterback playing at a pretty high level too,” Jeremiah said. “Sam’s put some balls right on him. And sometimes where there wasn’t as much separation, it’s just a fantastic throw as well.

“(JSN) has been the best receiver in the NFL, and his quarterback is playing pretty well too.”

Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the top of the story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks’ JSN beating defenses in ‘every way’

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