I don’t know about you, but I still feel a little robbed of watching what former Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba could have done in Scarlet and Gray last season. Imagine him and Marvin Harrison Jr. on opposite sides of the field. If only. Instead, he was nursing a significant hamstring injury all year thanks to being tackled awkwardly out of bounds against Notre Dame in the first contest of 2022.
Despite being sidelined for almost all of the college football season last year, Smith-Njigba was still selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 20. And based on the look of things, he’s fully healthy now and showing everyone why he was one of the most coveted receivers coming out of college.
It’s really no secret that Smith-Njigba is one of the best route runners we’ve seen in a long time, possessing arguably the best trait NFL general managers and scouts raved about the most. Now that we’re seeing him competing in pads at the highest level, he’s been showing that off in training camp and turning heads.
Take a look at the below video that is making the rounds on X (formerly known as Twitter), and see Smith-Njigba’s route running against the Seattle defensive backs.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a route ARTIST 😳
Njigba has reportedly appeared “faster” in pads than he does without.
Brock Huard (former NFL QB) said that he believes Njigba is a “blend” of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.
Njigba has reportedly been an early “favorite target” of… pic.twitter.com/uX35QQh23V
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 1, 2023
The first-step explosiveness, cutting, and precise route running against NFL-caliber corners is simply off-the-charts. Some guys just get open, and there’s little doubt Smith-Njigba will see plenty of balls spun his way during his rookie campaign.
We can’t wait to watch.
