Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba one of NFL's biggest Week 9 winners

It’s not easy to catch 100 passes for a team, be named to a Pro Bowl, and remain under the radar. That’s exactly the case when it came to Seattle Seahawks’ wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who despite leading the club in catches (100), receiving yards (1,130) and touchdown grabs (6) a season ago took a bit of a back seat to veterans such as Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf in the Pacific Northwest. Neither of the latter are still with the organization.

These days, it’s a much different story for Mike Macdonald’s club. On Sunday night at Landover, Smith-Njigba was targeted nine times and caught eight passes for 129 yards in his team’s 38-14 win over the Commanders.

The NFL staff at Bleacher Report assembled its winners and losers, as well as the top takeaways, for the 26 teams that have played so far in Week 9. When it came to both topics, the four analysts literally were literally gushing when it came to Seahawks’ wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) rushes for yards during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Seahawks defeated the Jaguars 20-12. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“When you think about the NFL’s top receivers, Smith-Njigba is seldom mentioned among the cream of the crop. This year, he’s inserted his name in the conversation. In six out of eight games, the breakout wideout has racked up 103 or more receiving yards. Smith-Njigba broke into the league as a primary slot receiver, though he’s lined up mainly on the perimeter with Cooper Kupp joining the team this past offseason. No longer just a slot receiver, the third-year pro is one of the league’s brightest young shining stars.”

That’s an understatement. The 2024 Pro Bowler leads the NFL with 948 receiving yards just eight games into his season.

There was this additional analysis. “Smith-Njigba reached triple-digit receiving numbers by halftime. He was several steps quicker than the Commanders defense and routinely broke open for big plays. Seattle went into cruise control with a 28-0 lead in the second quarter, which allowed the offense to take its foot off the gas pedal in the passing game. Still, Smith-Njigba enhanced his player profile on the prime-time stage of Sunday Night Football.”

For what it’s worth, Metcalf (now with the Steelers) owns the single-season Seahawks’ record for receiving yards (1,303)—set back in 2020.

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