The Chase for 1,000
Smith-Njigba's latest game was a 9-catch, 150-yard, one-touchdown night in Seattle's 20-3 win over Kansas City, his sixth 100-yard game of the season. He leads the NFL in receiving yards and touchdowns, and the gap is enormous: the next-closest receiver in yards, Chris Olave, has 636.
| Most Receiving Yards Through 7 Games (Super Bowl Era) | Yards |
|---|---|
| Tyreek Hill, 2023 | 902 |
| Lance Alworth, 1968 | 871 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 2026 | 867 |
Per ESPN, he's also the first receiver since 1966 with at least 850 yards and 8 touchdowns through seven games. This comes after a 2025 season in which he led the league with 1,793 receiving yards and was named Offensive Player of the Year. "He's unguardable," Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori said after the Chiefs game.
The Combine He Didn't Finish
Smith-Njigba arrived at the 2023 combine with questions. A hamstring injury had limited him to three games in his final season at Ohio State, and he chose not to run the 40 in Indianapolis, saying he hadn't had enough reps at it yet. He did run the agility drills, and those numbers were special.
| Test | Result | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 20-yard short shuttle | 3.93s | 4th-best by a WR at the combine since 2007 |
| Three-cone drill | 6.57s | 12th-best by a WR since 2007 |
| Vertical jump | 35" | Solid for the position |
| Broad jump | 10'5" | Solid for the position |
| 40-yard dash | 4.48s (pro day) | Official time; scouts had him in the low 4.5s |
| Height / weight | 6'0½" / 196 lbs | 2023 combine |
A 4.48 is fast but not rare for a first-round receiver, and Seattle took him 20th overall in 2023 as the first receiver off the board. The agility times were the outliers. A sub-4.0 shuttle from a wide receiver is uncommon, and pairing it with a 6.57 three-cone put him in rare company for change of direction.
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Calculate My Speed Percentile →Why Agility Beats the 40 for a Route Runner
The 40 measures how fast an athlete covers a straight line from a standing start. Most receiver routes never look like that. A slant, a dig, a curl or an option route is decided in the first 10 yards and at the break, the moment the receiver plants a foot and changes direction while the defender tries to react.
The short shuttle and three-cone measure exactly that: how quickly an athlete can decelerate, turn and re-accelerate. A receiver who can come out of a break a step faster than the cornerback doesn't need to outrun anyone. He's already open. That's why Smith-Njigba racks up yardage regardless of coverage type, and why a 4.48 hasn't held him back from posting historic numbers.
Monday Night Against Chicago
The 4-3 defending champions host the 5-2 Bears on Monday Night Football. Chicago just traded two first-round picks for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, and Seattle added eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to its offensive line. Neither team has said how big a role its new lineman will have right away. For Smith-Njigba, 133 yards would put him in a club with only five members. He had 150 against Kansas City last week.
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