His off-field demeanor is quiet, calculated, and unassuming. On the field, Seahawks record-setting receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba is anything but. Yes, he is smooth and seamless in his route running, but his explosiveness when attacking the ball is inconsistent. The Associated Player of the Year did just that on his way to league-leading 1,793 receiving yards on 119 receptions and 10 touchdowns.
“What an honor,” Smith-Njigba said on receiving the award. “I want to first give all the glory to God. Second, I want to give it to my teammates. I want to thank y’all. I love y’all. Y’all are who I do it for each and every week. I want to give this award to my father. Going into my last year [of college], he told me to pray for wisdom, and I did,” said Smith-Njigba via at taped video at the NFL Honors Awards Show.”
“ Before going into that season, I wanted to be a Top 5 draft choice, I wanted to be a Heisman candidate, a bunch of things, and ultimately, I wasn’t able to play and I think with that time, I grew wise and figured out a lot about myself, and who I wanted to be and who I wanted to do it for. Ultimately dropping to the 20th draft pick where I was selected by the Seattle Seahawks and I can’t thank everyone involved enough.”
HUMILITY AND HARD WORK
From the first day he was drafted by the Seahawks, Smith-Njigba stayed committed to his craft and learned from the Seahawks’ veteran wide receivers.
“ I love getting a text or call from T-Lock (Tyler Lockett), and it means the world to me. I look up to him, and the traditions that he has left here are still here, ‘ said Smith-Njigba earlier in the season when he received the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. “ I try to still carry that and push it forward and he has been a great help to me, like a big brother, just helping me along this way, along this journey, and I’m super grateful for him.”
While he was learning from veterans like Lockett and DK Metcalf, Smith-Njigba was quietly becoming the Seahawks’ main offensive threat. The trades of Metcalf to Pittsburgh and Geno Smith to the Oakland Raiders created a void that was quickly filled by Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, and Smith-Njigba.
The addition of the 32-year-old Kupp,, a nine-year veteran enhanced Smith- Najiba’s arsenal as a wide receiver, which included the importance of blocking. In addition to the receiving yards record, Smith-Njigba became the first player in NFL history with at least 75 receiving yards in each of his first 11 games of a season. He had nine 100+ yard games this season, with a season best of 167 yards in Week 12. He also had nine 100-yard games this season, the most in the NFL and the most in a single season in franchise history. Along with that, Smith-Njigba set multiple franchise records and did enough to put his name next to NFL greats in the league record books.
A CLASS ACT
While he had numerous kind words for his teammates who helped him hone his craft, those same teammates were more than willing to acknowledge Smith-Njigba’s dedication, commitment, and professionalism.
“ Yeah, well, I mean, Jax (Smith-Njigba) was a great football player before I got here. He was an unbelievable football player before I got here, so just start there. But I think one of the coolest things to see through this year, not saying it was anyone’s hand in it except for just Jax being Jax, but his ability to stay present in the moment when teams are going to try to take him away. There will be times he’s on a dry spell. Again, there are points in the game you’re not getting the ball thrown your way,” said Kupp
“His ability to stay in the process and trust, hey, ‘If you stay engaged and keep mentally in this thing, the ball will come your way and you’re going to make a huge play.’ That’s a small micro moment in games, but week by week it’s like, man, coming out here and being engaged in walk-throughs and engaged in practice, ask questions. And it’s not going to be perfect. There will be days you’re hurting and tired and mentally maybe you’re not there. To be able to continually come back and own the mistakes, be accountable to those things, and when it comes time on Sunday, because you’ve been accountable and consistent, he shows up. He shows up on Sunday ready to go. So it’s been super cool to see. Yeah, that’s just the player he is.”
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- Ernest Jones IV the Seahawks man in the middle
