Published October 26, 2026 12:05 PM
Jaxon Smith-Njigba continued his remarkable start to the 2026 season on Sunday with nine catches for 150 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs.
He also had a pair of carries to give him 163 yards from scrimmage.
If it seems like the Seahawks are giving him an inordinate amount of targets, it’s because they are.
Wouldn’t you?
“You’d be crazy not to try to make him the primary [target] on as many concepts as you can,” head coach Mike Macdonald said in his postgame press conference after Sunday’s win.
Through seven games, Smith-Njigba leads the league in receiving yards (867) and receiving touchdowns (eight). He also leads the league in targets (78).
“He’s tremendous,” Macdonald said. “I don’t know how else to describe him. Like, he’s had some adversity this week. Just going to leave it like that. Just really proud of him as a person. He’s a person, competitor, teammate. How do you not just have the most respect for the guy and love him for how he operates?”
If there was any play emblematic of Smith-Njigba’s ability and skill as a receiver, it was his 28-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter to put the Seahawks up 10-0. With Smith-Njigba matched up one-on-one with a Chiefs cornerback, there was little doubt as to where the ball would go once the ball was snapped to quarterback Sam Darnold.
“I have pretty good confidence that if we’re throwing him the ball, he’s going to come down with it,” Macdonald said. “When you see him singled like that, based off that play call, I knew that’s where Sam was going to go with the ball.”
Smith-Njigba has eclipsed 100 yards in six of his seven games this season, reaching 120 in five of them. If he continues like this, the reigning AP offensive player of the year could be in line to get some MVP votes at season’s end.