He went from potential go-to target to the most dominant wide receiver in the NFL in one season, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s upward trend isn’t over yet. Not when a “sticky stat” can keep the Seattle Seahawks’ All-Pro at the top of his position group.
Smith-Njigba is far from done because of a key change he made to his game in 2025. It involves one specific metric explained by ESPN’s Ben Solak.
The latter believes he “can craft the argument that Smith-Njigba’s 2025 is an unassailable trend simply with his yards per route run: 3.85, the second-best number of the past decade behind 2023 Tyreek Hill. Yards per route run is a particularly sticky stat.”
Increasing his yards per route run didn’t just make JSN a more credible vertical threat last season. It also put him into select company alongside some prolific wideouts who maintained stellar production for multiple years.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Set to Build on Breakout Because of 1 Number
Solak noted how when “Looking at the top 20 players by yards per route run over the past 10 years, we mostly find repeat offenders. Guys at the top of this list tend to stay at the top, and those few one-hit wonders — players like Brandon Aiyuk and Michael Thomas — disappeared because of injury and unhappiness with their role.”
Smith-Njigba belongs in this category because he brought superior athleticism to a more expansive offense. His breakout enabled the Seahawks to attack coverage deep from outside the numbers more often.
The shift in JSN’s usage plan resulted in several sudden strikes. Like this 42-yard grab against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Connections like this one made Smith-Njigba the favorite target for big plays of quarterback Sam Darnold. That’s unlikely to change this season, even after the Seahawks turned the offense over to a new play-caller.
Seahawks Aren’t Altering What Works
Replacing Klint Kubiak with Brian Fleury on the headset won’t alter what works for key players, especially Smith-Njigba. The easy way to prove that is by understanding the importance of Solak referencing Aiyuk on the list of receivers who thrived after increasing their yards per route run.
Fleury was on the staff with the San Francisco 49ers when Aiyuk topped 1,000 yards in both 2022 and ’23. It means Fleury will know how to design more plays for Smith-Njigba to get beyond the last line of defenses.
The only factor likely to impact Smith-Njigba’s workload is the emergence of another pass-catcher capable of stretching the field. There’s an obvious candidate, in the form of Rashid Shaheed, who has made a big change to inspire his own breakout in 2026.
Shaheed could take some deep targets away from Smith-Njigba, while the Seahawks still have decorated veteran Cooper Kupp available to work underneath. Add in the pending return from injury of young burner Tory Horton, along with the buzz already growing around second-year tight end Elijah Arroyo, and the Seahawks have a loaded contingent of playmakers in the passing game.
Darnold isn’t lacking for options, but things will still go through Smith-Njigba, even if he might not benefit from the “simply preposterous centralization” Solak noted from last season.
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