Miami wideout Malachi Toney has a clear template in mind, and it’s one of the best in the business. Toney said he wants his game to mirror Seattle star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a receiver whose polish, body control and hands have already made him a standout at the next level.
That connection isn’t just talk. Toney spent part of the offseason working out with Smith-Njigba, and training clips showed the two getting in work together in Miami.
The fit makes sense when you look at the way Toney played in his freshman season. He was Miami’s most productive offensive weapon, piling up 109 catches for 1,211 receiving yards. He also had five 100-yard receiving games and finished with 10 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown in the national championship game against Indiana.
Smith-Njigba’s path offers a pretty clean blueprint. At Ohio State, he emerged as a polished route runner with elite body control and reliable hands, then broke out in 2021 after a quiet freshman year in 2020.
That season, he caught 95 passes for a school-record 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns while sharing a receiver room with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. His biggest college performance came in the Rose Bowl against Utah, when he put up 15 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns.
His NFL rise has been just as steep. Smith-Njigba had 63 receptions for 628 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie, then followed with 100 catches for 1,130 yards and six scores in 2024. In 2025, he took another leap with 119 receptions for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the NFL in receiving yards and helping deliver a Super Bowl title.
The two receivers also line up well physically. Smith-Njigba measured 6-foot-0 5/8 and 196 pounds at the combine before running a 4.48 40-yard dash at Ohio State’s pro day. Toney is listed at 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds at Miami, and would probably run in that range, if not faster.
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