Jaxon Smith-Njigba set to be 'massive piece' of Seahawks offense in second season

The Seahawks are an intriguing team with Mike Macdonald, the former Ravens defensive coordinator. What will his offense look like? Well, he’s planning on building a lot around Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

The Seahawks hired Ryan Grubb, the former coordinator of the Washington Huskies, to mold their offense. No doubt, it’ll feature lots of creative concepts in the passing game, with Geno Smith throwing to the likes of with Smith-Njigba, Seattle’s first rounder from 2023, D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Buzz out of Seattle suggests that Smith-Njigba, otherwise known as JSN, is about to enjoy a breakout season.

“JSN’s a great player and [we’re] expecting big things out of him,” Macdonald told reporters this week as the Seahawks finished minicamp. “He’s had a great offseason, works his tail off. His practice habits are awesome. Moving ability is pretty elite. I think we got a really cool plan for him.”

Macdonald added “He’s a guy that we can focus our offense around, along with other guys. Tyler Lockett is still a great player. DK Metcalf, phenomenal player. The runners, Noah Fant. But he’s definitely going to be a massive piece of what we’re trying to do offensively.”

Smith-Njigba broke wrist during last year’s Seahawks camp

Smith-Njiga, the former Ohio State star, was the 20th pick of last year’s draft. He broke his left wrist in the middle of training camp, but managed to make it back for the season opener. But it still took him another month to grow comfortable in the NFL. By season’s end, Smith-Njigba caught 63 passes for 628 yards.

It’s not clear whether Smith-Njigba will play more slot or outside this season. He did both in 2023, when Pete Carroll still was the head coach with the Seahawks. According to ESPN Stats & Info, JSN lined up on the outside on 38 of his catches last fall. Where he lines up usually determines the coverage. Out wide draws man-to-man, while the slot usually dictates a zone.

“Being on the outside, I feel like it’s more of a one-on-one matchup and I love one-on-one matchups,” Smith-Njigba said. “Being on the inside, there’s some one-on-one matchups, a lot of zone and just reading the defense and sitting in the zone, which I feel like I’m pretty good at. But when it’s one-on-one or being on the outside, it’s more playground a little bit and that’s what I like. I like the challenge.”

Sounds like he doesn’t mind playing anywhere on the field.

And if you’re curious, Smith-Njigba usually takes a big jump in production from his first year in a program to his second. It happened at Rockwall High School outside Dallas. And it also happened at Ohio State.

He’s hoping he’ll experience the same second-year jump with the Seahawks.

“I felt like it was a good foundation,” Smith-Njigba said of 2023. “I can grow from it. A lot of growing pains, a lot of ups and downs, but kind of similar from first years of college and in high school. Kind of the same thing.”