Jaxon Smith-Njigba has spent the season flattening defenses, and now he gets a fresh test in Week 7: Kansas City Chiefs rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane.
That matchup is drawing attention across the league, with Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker calling it one of the best individual battles on the week’s schedule. Locker pointed to Delane’s strong start as the reason Smith-Njigba is facing such a demanding assignment on Sunday.
“Delane has been everything the Chiefs could’ve hoped to start his pro campaign,” Locker said. “The sixth overall pick has compiled an 81.4 PFF coverage grade, the fifth-highest among cornerbacks with at least 120 coverage snaps. Delane has permitted only a 63.8 passer rating when targeted as well.”
Smith-Njigba brings elite production into the matchup. Through six games, the Seattle Seahawks wideout leads the NFL with 717 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. He also sits atop the league in first downs with 36 and receptions with 49, continuing to operate as the engine of Seattle’s passing game.
Delane, taken sixth overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, has already flashed the kind of impact Kansas City wanted when it made the pick. In four games, he has an interception, three passes defensed and two tackles for loss, a stat line that reflects both his coverage chops and his instincts around the ball.
Now he steps into what could be the biggest challenge of his young career. Smith-Njigba, the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year, will have to work through Delane’s length, physicality and sticky, down-to-down coverage in what shapes up as one of Week 7’s marquee matchups.
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