Seahawks get ‘fantastic steal’ in Jaxon Smith-Njigba | PFF Draft Show
The Pro Football Focus live draft show explains why the Ohio State wideout is a great fit among Seattle’s receiving duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
Video transcript
- Small boys unite, baby. Devon Witherspoon, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, what a haul for the Seattle Seahawks.
- I love it. I love it for Seattle.
- I love it too.
- Coming off of last year's draft class, where they got two starting tackles, Tariq Woolen as a potentially elite corner in the fifth round, Ken Walker, everything that they got last year. And now add Devon Witherspoon to play opposite Woolen, Jaxon Smith-Njigba to be the number three receiver, to play the slot. We already have DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
And they got Geno Smith on the mid-tier, mid-level quarterback contract that we've been begging for for the NFL to use. Seattle's well positioned now because of these two draft picks. And this is all the fallout from the Russell Wilson trade, all of it.
- Yeah, no this is a great pick. I mean, we were mocking them a slot receiver of some description in a lot of our mock drafts. And it was almost never Jaxon Smith-Njigba simply because nobody ever thought he'd make it this far. But for them to get him, I think, is really a fantastic steal for them.
It's interesting because, look, he has a very high floor because he's a good slot receiver right now. What Cris talked about is interesting because I think there's a lot of that in that Ohio State offense that, as much as he made some plays, there was a ton that were just given to him because he plays in the slot. And that offense is kind of a cheat code, and people are wide open all the time.
So a lot of people will say, oh, he outperformed Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in the same offense. Yeah, I mean, sort of, but he also was in the position that is open more often and was simply given more free plays. But I think he might be able to be more than he's been in college.
90% of his snaps came in the slot. The skill set is there for him to play outside. I think he's better against man coverage than he is in zone coverage. And part of that is because he's got elite footwork, he's got head fakes, and the ability to set up defensive backs. And these are the things you need if you're going to play outside and defeat press coverage.
So he's been just a slot receiver. I think that's his floor. But the ceiling is actually higher than that.