Former Ohio State receiver joins elite company with incredible 2025 season

Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to tear up opposing defensive backs in 2025.

The former Ohio State Buckeye, who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 20 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, has joined elite ranks after his 100+ yard performance against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

He is one of two players to have 900+ receiving yards in the first eight games of a season before turning 24-years-old. Not only is he torching teams, but he's already looking like an experienced veteran at such a young age.

The only other player in history to have such statistics is Isaac Bruce. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a four-time Pro Bowler. He played in the league for 16 seasons, amassing a total of 15,208 yards and 91 touchdowns with the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

In the game against the Commanders, Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 129 yards, an average of 16.1 yards per reception. His catch rate was tied for a season-high 88.9%.

Only players with 900+ receiving yards in first 8 games of a season before turning 24:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Isaac Bruce pic.twitter.com/ay6eQlyw8H
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) November 3, 2025

On the 2025 campaign, he has 948 yards and four touchdowns on 58 receptions. He's got an incredibly high volume of 79 targets on the season with four games in double-figure targets, including a season-high of 14 coming back on Oct. 20 against the Houston Texans. He finished that game with 123 yards and one touchdown.

This season he also has six games with over 100 receiving yards with over eight receptions in each. His best showing of the year came in a 162-yard outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars, finishing with an average of 20.3 yards per reception and one touchdown.

In his two seasons prior, Smith-Njigba showed these signs of lethality as a route runner.

In 2024, he was selected to be a Pro Bowler, recording 100 receptions on 137 targets for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. In his rookie season, he played limited reps but still took advantage of his opportunities, hauling in 63 passes for 628 yards and four touchdowns.

To some, it may seem as though this level of play emerged out of nowhere, but this was all built and learned at Ohio State.

Brian Hartline, a former NFL player and current coach at Ohio State, praised Smith-Njigba back during his rookie season.

"The tempo in which he changes directions is very special," he said. "Special meaning that I don’t see a whole lot of guys that do that. His catch-to-run mechanics, his ability to catch the ball and transition to a ball carrier is very uncommon. He does it at a very high level. That also plays into his overall speed and the way he plays the game."

In his playing days with the Buckeyes, he stood out as one of the top wide receivers in the nation. As a sophomore, he hauled in 95 passes for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged nearly 17 yards a reception, showcasing that elusiveness and explosiveness he's seen translate into the professional side as well.

With the Buckeyes continuing to churn out pro-level ready prospects, many high school recruits will continue to look towards the program that calls The Shoe "home".

Many wide receivers who come to Ohio State end up being transformed into top-level college athletes with some going on to be starters for NFL teams.

While Smith-Njigba gears up to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Nov. 9, the Buckeyes are preparing to face off against the Purdue Boilermakers the day before on the road from Ross-Ade Stadium with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.