Seahawks PFF grades: Sam Darnold & Jaxon Smith-Njigba shine, cornerbacks exposed

The Seattle Seahawks won again on the road on Sunday, taking down the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 20-12. The win improves their record on the season to 4-2 and head coach Mike Macdonald's all-time record away from Lumen Field to 10-1.

After an off game against the Buccaneers, the Seahawks pass rush returned to dominant form. On the other side of the ball, they were led by what's already the greatest QB-WR combo in franchise history.

Here are the best and worst performers for Seattle this week according to Pro Football Focus.

Sam Darnold, JSN better than ever

Once again the Seahawks got an exceptional game from starting quarterback Sam Darnold, who posted 295 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 121.7 passer rating. For his efforts, Darnold earned a 94.6 overall grade, which is his highest mark of the season.

The biggest beneficiary of Darnold's great game was the team's new superstar wide receiver Jaxon Smith Njigba. JSN put up eight catches, 162 yards (passing Puka Nakua for the NFL lead) and a touchdown. That earned him a 90.6 overall grade, his second-best of the season - but the Saints don't really count.

JSN — Oct 12, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs the ball during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. | Travis Register-Imagn Images

The top five on offense was rounded out by tight end AJ Barner (83.3), wide receiver Cooper Kupp (75.1) and running back Kenneth Walker III (70.6 overall).

Rough day for Bison

The lowest grade on offense this week went to rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo (40.0) but he was only on the field for 25 snaps. Among starters the worst grade went to rookie left guard Grey Zabel, who got a 56.5 in pass blocking and a 39.7 in run blocking, coming out to 41.0 overall.

The second-lowest mark among offensive starters went to Zabel's former NDSU teammate, center Jalen Sundell. PFF had him at 26.3 in pass blocking, bringing down his overall grade to 48.0.

Leonard Williams leads defense

It was a dominant performance up fron by Seattle's defensive line, especially from Big Cat Leonard Williams. He posted four stops, half a sack and two quarterback hits to go with a ton of pressures. For his trouble, Williams earned the highest defensive grade on the team this week (80.6 overall).

Second place on defense went to rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, who led the team with nine total tackles, including six solo. While his tackling grade was low (44.4) he scored well in every other category, earning a 78.1 overall grade.

Cornerback depth exposed

Up until this week Seattle's depth in their defensive backfield had stood up marvelously well considering the rash of injuries going around that unit. However, the Seahawks' backup cornerbacks had a pretty rough game in coverage.

Shaq Griffin earned a 53.8 grade in that department and a 56.0 overall, the fourth-worst grade among defensive starters this week. Derion Kedrick only played two snaps but that was enough to get him a team-low 43.0 overall grade. Josh Jobe was next-up from the bottom with a 42.5 grade in coverage and 45.6 overall.

Sam Darnold, JSN better than ever

Rough day for Bison

Leonard Williams leads defense

Cornerback depth exposed

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