Jaxon Smith-Njigba already put together the kind of 2025 season that fantasy managers dream about and everyone else has to squint at to believe. He finished as NFL Offensive Player of the Year, helped Seattle win Super Bowl LX, and put himself in a position where the real question for 2026 is not whether he’s a star, but whether he can somehow top what he just did.
The answer probably doesn’t need to be yes for him to pay off. Smith-Njigba enters 2026 as the clear focal point of Seattle’s passing game, backed by a four-year, $168.6 million extension that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history at signing, with more than $120 million guaranteed. That kind of investment tells you exactly how the Seahawks view him: as the guy they plan to keep feeding.
His rise was a steady climb before it became a full-blown eruption. As a rookie, he posted 63 catches for 628 yards and four touchdowns.
In Year 2, he broke out with 100 receptions, 1,130 yards and six touchdowns, while making his first Pro Bowl and tying Seattle’s single-season receptions record at the time. By 2025, he wasn’t just part of the offense anymore.
He was the offense.
That season was ridiculous by any standard. Smith-Njigba caught 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns on 163 targets in 17 games, averaging 15.1 yards per catch. Those 1,793 yards were the seventh-most in a single NFL season, and he led the league outright in receiving yards while doing it in one of the run-heaviest offenses in football, per the NFL’s own game logs.
For fantasy purposes, the production landed him as a WR2 in PPR scoring, but the weekly profile was even better than the final rank suggested. Seattle kept funnelling targets his way no matter the game script, and his target share reached 36% of the team’s total targets. He earned first-team All-Pro honors, made his second straight Pro Bowl, and then capped the year by winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year before the Seahawks beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
Trying to duplicate that exact line in 2026 is a huge ask. Very few receivers in league history have touched 1,793 yards once, much less done it back-to-back. Seattle’s offensive setup also changed with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak gone, and Brian Fleury now calling the plays.
Even so, the ingredients for another elite season are still there. The Seahawks’ offseason commitment to Smith-Njigba was massive, and the surrounding cast should help keep defenses honest.
Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed give Seattle real complementary threats, which makes life harder for any defense trying to erase Smith-Njigba on his own. Kenneth Walker III also left for the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, a move that could tilt an already pass-heavy approach even further toward the air.
So what does a step back actually look like? Something like 110 catches, 1,500-plus yards and nine touchdowns would still be a massive fantasy season, even if it falls short of the 2025 fireworks. The floor is high because the role is secure, and the ceiling is still loud if Seattle keeps the volume up and Sam Darnold keeps looking his way.
That’s why Smith-Njigba still sits near the top of the board for 2026. Consensus rankings across major outlets have him at WR3, behind Ja’Marr Chase and Puka Nacua and ahead of Amon-Ra St. Brown, which puts him squarely in first-round territory from picks 3 through 5.
The price is steep, but the case is straightforward: 2025 proved what he can do, the contract proves how much Seattle wants him involved, and everything around him points to another season that should keep him in the WR1 conversation. He may not need to repeat historic to be one of the best picks in fantasy football.
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Seahawks Preseason Opener Could Shift One Roster Battle Fans Are Watching
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Jalen Milroe also fits into that group of guys who need their reps to count, because these first preseason snaps can shape how the staff sorts out the back end of the roster. With the regular season still ahead, this game is less about the score than about who leaves it looking like a player the Seahawks can trust when the cuts start coming. [Read more 🡒]