When Seattle made Jaxon Smith-Njigba the first wide receiver off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft, it kicked off a four-man run at the position. Three-plus seasons later, the Seahawks’ pick has separated himself from the rest of that group in a big way.
Smith-Njigba is off to another blistering start in his fourth pro season, and on Sunday he joined Tyler Lockett and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Steve Largent as the only receivers in Seahawks history to post three straight 1,000-yard seasons. He got there in just nine games for the second year in a row.
He’s also in the mix for a rare triple crown, a feat that would make him just the sixth receiver to do it since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Seattle teammate Cooper Kupp did it in 2021 with the Los Angeles Rams. Smith-Njigba leads the league with 1,036 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns, and his 71 catches leave him two behind Arizona’s Trey McBride for the league lead.
The numbers behind his career arc tell the same story. Smith-Njigba’s rookie year was relatively quiet while he worked as Seattle’s No. 3 receiver, but he has since piled up 4,587 yards and 29 touchdowns on 353 catches in 60 career games. That works out to 76.5 yards per game.
His trophy case is already crowded. Last season he was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Pro after leading the league with 1,793 receiving yards, the most ever in a Seahawks season and the eighth-most in NFL history. He also has two Pro Bowl selections, and this past offseason he signed a four-year, $168.6 million extension that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in league history.
The other receivers taken right after him have had flashes, but none has matched Smith-Njigba’s overall production. Quentin Johnston went 21st to the Chargers and remains the only one of the four first-rounders without an 800-yard season.
He has shown some downfield pop this year, averaging 20 yards per catch, but his season line sits at 260 yards and one touchdown on 13 receptions in seven games, and he’s on pace for his least productive year since his rookie season. In 53 career games, Johnston has 157 catches for 2,137 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Zay Flowers, selected 22nd by Baltimore, has been the closest challenger. The Boston College product is trying to join Smith-Njigba with three straight 1,000-yard seasons and is currently at 614 yards in eight games.
Flowers has been a two-time Pro Bowler and has totaled 3,742 yards and 17 touchdowns on 280 receptions in 58 career games, while also adding 225 yards and two scores on 33 carries. His 1,211 receiving yards last season were the nearest anyone in this group has come to Smith-Njigba’s award-winning 2025 output.
Jordan Addison, taken 23rd by Minnesota, looked like the early favorite after a strong rookie year that produced 70 catches, 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. Since then, though, his numbers have dipped each season amid a quarterback carousel in Minnesota, and he also served a three-game suspension last season for violating the NFL’s substances of abuse policy.
He has been the Vikings’ clear No. 2 behind four-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson. Addison has 191 receptions for 2,645 yards and 23 touchdowns in 52 career games, and this season he’s at 249 yards and one touchdown on 33 catches in six games, averaging a career-low 41.5 yards per game.
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Have A Week 10 Quarterback Problem Again
Drew Lock took another hit to Seattles quarterback depth chart on Sunday, leaving the game against Arizona with a new injury in his right hip area and still managing to stay on the field. The Seahawks now have to sort through the fallout of that issue while also waiting on a separate evaluation for an oblique injury, a reminder that the position has become a moving target again just as the season enters another critical stretch.
Mike Macdonald said Locks status is uncertain, and the timing is especially awkward because Sam Darnold is also dealing with quad and rib injuries and is considered week-to-week. For a team that has already spent too much time managing quarterback availability, Week 10 suddenly looks like another test of how much flexibility Seattle really has if both passers are limited. [Read more 🡒]
Drew Lock Just Gave Seahawks Fans A Real QB Debate
The Seahawks got through Week 9 with a 17-3 win over the Cardinals even while missing Leonard Williams and Uchenna Nwosu on defense, and the more interesting question afterward was what Drew Lock did at quarterback. Starting in place of Sam Darnold, Lock played through injuries, protected the ball and helped Seattle stay in control of a game that never really tilted back Arizonas way. Dante Fowler Jr. chipped in with key plays on the other side of the ball, and AJ Barner added a touchdown to round out a sturdy team effort.
What makes the conversation linger is how clean Lock looked in a spot where the Seahawks have had to manage uncertainty. Darnold did not play, and his season has already been defined by turnovers, so a mistake-free outing from Lock naturally invites a bigger look at the position. Seattle does not have to make a sweeping decision off one game, but after a win like this, the quarterback picture feels a lot less settled than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Face A Trade Deadline Dilemma That Could Shape This Season
The Seahawks are heading into the NFL trade deadline with a familiar kind of front-office tension: whether to chase help now or protect the draft capital that keeps the roster stocked for later. General manager John Schneider has been weighing a range of possibilities, from edge rushers Khalil Mack and Jadeveon Clowney to running back Tony Pollard and tight end Dallas Goedert, as Seattle looks for ways to strengthen a team that wants to stay in the mix without mortgaging too much of its future.
Seattle has already made one notable move by bringing in left guard Quenton Nelson, though he is currently injured, which only adds to the urgency and the uncertainty around what comes next. The Seahawks want immediate impact, but they are also wary of paying a premium for short-term rentals, so the deadline could come down to how far Schneider is willing to go to help this season without emptying the cupboard for the next one. [Read more 🡒]