Why Jaxon Smith-Ngigba Is A WR1 In PPR Fantasy Football Formats

Jaxon Smith-Njigba enters 2025 as the Seahawks’ WR1 and a top-12 fantasy football wideout with 100-catch potential after a breakout sophomore season.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs the ball against the Detroit Lions in the third quarter at Ford Field. | Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Jaxon Smith-Njigba gets some knocks for his route running, quickness, and top-end speed by scouts, but the Seahawks saw enough in his game to invest a first-round pick on him in 2023. His hands grade well, along with his movements in space when the ball is in the air. Smith-Njigba produces on the field, which is all that matters in the end.

In 2022, Smith-Njigba played in only three games with empty stats (5/43 on nine targets) due to a hamstring injury. His success in 2021 (95/1,606/9 on 112) at Ohio State convinced Seattle that he was NFL-ready. He finished that year with five explosive games (15/240/1, 9/139/1, 10/105/1, 11/127, and 15/347/3).

In his rookie season, Smith-Njigba caught 63 of his 93 targets (67.7%) for 628 yards and four touchdowns. The Seahawks used him close to the line of scrimmage based on his yards per catch (10.0) and catches (7) of 20 yards or more. He scored double-digit fantasy points (PPR formats) in six contests (4/63/1, 3/36/1, 6/63, 7/62, 4/48/1, and 6/61), making him only a flex option in 35.3% of his matchups. The Seahawks had him on the field for 64.2% of their snaps.

Other than Week 2 (12/117), Smith-Njigba underperformed expectations last season in his other first eight games (31/271 on 46 targets). He delivered an impact showing in Week 9 (7/180/2), followed up by another active game (10/118). After four productive fantasy showings (4/79, 5/86/1, 10/83, and 8/100/1), Smith-Njigba cruised home with two dull outings (3/32 and 4/13).

Seattle gave him WR1 snaps (86.1%). He scored double-digit fantasy points in 12 of his 17 starts, giving Njigba a consistency factor. Six contests resulted in double-digit targets while adding more length to his catches (11.3 YPC). He finished 10th in wide receiver scoring (253.35) in PPR formats.

Jaxon Smith-Ngigba 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook, Projections, Ranking

Njigba’s success last season paints him as a yearly 100-catch wideout at age 23. He is the clear-cut number one target in this offense, but his expected scoring puts him a notch or two below the best wide receivers in the NFL. As the 12th wideout off the table in 2025, Njigba has an excellent chance at a 110/1,100/7 season, but it requires Sam Darnold to maintain some of his 2024 gains in passing.

JSN is currently the WR12 in our 2025 PPR Rankings and the WR16 in Non-PPR formats.