The impossibly brilliant versatility of Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 2025 season

He leads the NFL in receiving yards. He’s got double-digit touchdowns. He lines up on the outside on over 78% of his snaps. He’s the favorite to win Offensive Player of the Year. He’s the only player on the Seahawks with over 50 catches and 600 yards. He’s got an outside chance to set a scrimmage yard record for a wide receiver.

There are so many ways to describe JSN’s brilliant season, some of them obvious and some of them more obscure. But buried deeper within all the beautiful numbers is one fascinating statistic that proves he’s grown far beyond his expected use case coming out of college. I remember those days, when everyone (myself included) saw a slot receiver and little else.

An excellent slot receiver, don’t get me wrong. Someone who would probably become the best slot in the league at some point in his career. But given that he took 83% of his college snaps in the slot, and virtually all of his production came in the slot, it seemed like his role would be well-defined in the NFL. In year three, he’s broken every definition you could have had.

Per Next Gen Stats, JSN’s done something pretty amazing, in a year where he’s tallied 1,709 receiving yards and counting. He does not have more than 280 yards on any one type of route on the year. He ranks no higher than second at production on any route type. This isn’t a player running the same play over and over and getting spammed the ball. He works for everything.

Right now, his most productive route is the ‘Go’ route. Nice and simple, run in a straight line down the field, and wait for the quarterback to arc you a deep shot. But he’s only got 279 yards on that route this season, fourth in the league. He’s also very productive on ‘Post’ routes, intermediate slants, but his 246 yards is just fifth.

‘Out’ routes, intermediate cuts towards the sideline, have also been kind to JSN, with 245 yards, good for second in the league. ‘Slant’ routes, short ups and over the middle, have been good for 226 yards, also second in the league. He’s got at least 225 yards on four different route types this season, something that only the very best in the league are even capable of doing.

‘Cross’ routes are next, immediate slants across the middle, where he’s ninth with 169 yards. The ‘Hitch’ route, an intermediate comebacker towards the ball, isn’t quite his favorite, ranking just 24th with 146 yards. But he’s among the best in the league at winning on ‘Corner’ routes, effectively a Go with a turn towards the sideline at the end, with 145 yards, second place.

There are only a few route types where JSN isn’t doing significant and repeated damage. Screens, true comebackers, drags are less prominent. But the variety of ways he can demolish a defense stand out, and make it impossible to deny that he is an all-around elite talent, and that this level of success should be replicable in future seasons.

He'll be great for years to come. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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