SAN FRANCISCO — Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s full name is a mouthful, so he’s commonly known around the Seattle Seahawks’ facility as “Jax.”
Others refer to him by his initials, JSN. Those close to Smith-Njigba have, for a few years now, been using a different nickname.
“Best in the world.”
Smith-Njigba, Seattle’s star wide receiver, has long believed this to be a fitting description. He believed it when he was setting records and snagging one-handed passes at Rockwall High in Texas. He believed it when he was at Ohio State, making a case as the best wideout to don the scarlet and gray. He even believed it when, despite being the first receiver selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, his rookie-year statistics paled in comparison to some of his peers.
The Seahawks still needed some convincing even after their offseason moves that vaulted Smith-Njigba to WR1. Still, Smith-Njigba and those around him knew what was coming this season. He just needed the opportunity to show it.
The NFL world started to believe when he spent most of the 2025 season on pace to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 receiving yards. NFL coaches, players and fans came to terms with it when they voted him to the Pro Bowl. The media affirmed it when they unanimously voted him first-team All-Pro.
Now, the 23-year-old has another accolade confirming what he’s known for years: Offensive Player of the Year.
Smith-Njigba won the award, voted on by the Associated Press, on Thursday night during NFL Honors at the Palace of Fine Arts. Smith-Njigba, whose Seahawks are playing in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, did not attend the event. His focus is on capping one of the best individual seasons in franchise history with a championship.
Smith-Njigba joined former running back Shaun Alexander (2005) as the only Seahawks to win AP Offensive Player of the Year. This season, Smith-Njigba broke Tyler Lockett’s single-season reception record, DK Metcalf’s single-season receiving yards record and joined Hall of Fame wideout Steve Largent as only first-team All-Pro receivers in franchise history. The Best In The World is making a strong case that is already one of the best to rock the Seahawks’ navy blue.
“He’s the best offensive player in the NFL,” Seattle receiver Jake Bobo said. “The stats show it. If you’re kind of a scheme geek and you watch how defenses play him, that shows it. He is the most important offensive player every time we go out on the field. So, for a guy like that to contribute in the way he does to a team that’s gotten to this point, he’s your guy.”
Midway through a Week 3 game in 2023, Smith-Njigba found a seat on the Seahawks’ bench and began to sulk.
Smith-Njigba was visibly upset, prompting quarterback Geno Smith to walk over and offer words of encouragement to the team’s 21-year-old first-round draft pick. Smith’s spiel lasted roughly 15 seconds, and within it, the quarterback repeatedly looked at Smith-Njigba and said, “You’re the best.”
Plenty of rookies deal with similar emotions as they adjust from dominating at the college level to starting fresh in the pros. Smith-Njigba’s body language in that moment was normal for a first-year player, particularly one who wasn’t contributing much to the offense at that point in his career.
The Seahawks are playing in the Super Bowl because Smith-Njigba no longer has those moments.
After he delivered a 4-yard touchdown reception in the divisional-round win over the San Francisco 49ers, he strolled the sideline, slapping hands with teammates while yelling, “Dominate these motherf—ers.” During the NFC Championship Game, Smith-Njigba was captured on camera hollering to his teammates on the bench, “Let’s go! Disciplined, championship football.”
That’s more of the norm for Smith-Njigba these days: encouraging, energetic and engaged.
In lieu of season-long captains, the Seahawks under coach Mike Macdonald choose weekly game captains to represent the team at midfield for the coin toss. There is typically one for each unit, with a few exceptions based on opponent, practice performance and other factors.
The offense’s representative for the Super Bowl was an obvious choice: Smith-Njigba.
“Jax is a huge part as to why we’re here,” receiver Dareke Young said during a media session at the San Jose Convention Center. “We wouldn’t be able to be here without him. He’s a great player for us, a great leader. We depend on him to keep leading us in the right direction.”
Another sign of Smith-Njigba’s maturity is the fact that he remains engaged even when he’s not contributing, or things aren’t going the offense’s way. In Weeks 4, 13 and 16, Smith-Njigba didn’t have a catch in the first half. Yet he was the same guy between series as if he’d gone for 100 yards and a touchdown. Smith-Njigba, the player, has grown into the best receiver in the NFL. Smith-Njigba, the person, has grown, too.
“Whenever the offense is down, he’ll say things to help pick us up,” Young said. “But for the most part, he does a good job of leading by example. The way he practices, the way he runs routes. The attitude that he brings into the building every day is contagious.”
Outside of gameday, Smith-Njigba isn’t a very talkative person. Even then, he prefers to let his game speak for him. He is this team’s attitude personified. Through good times and bad, whether Week 1 or Week 21, Smith-Njigba has the same workmanlike approach to his craft.
There have been moments when it would have been understandable to break character, like when 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir called him a crybaby in the offseason, then called him out again before the Week 18 rematch. Smith-Njigba never said a word until throwing a quick jab in his postgame news conference — after delivering a game-high 84 receiving yards in a victory.
“When you know who you are and you know your guys that you have around you, your work speaks for itself,” said outside linebacker Derick Hall, a member of Smith-Njigba’s 2023 draft class. “You don’t have to go out and talk. That’s what Jax does, man. No matter who says what, no matter what goes on, Jax just goes out and does the work. And he’s not about to go back and forth with you on social media. He’ll just go out there and show you on Sundays.
“When you have somebody like that, man, you can’t ask for much better than that.”
There are a few ways to gain respect in Seattle’s locker room, and one of them is to consistently practice what you preach. Inauthenticity doesn’t play well with this version of the Seahawks. That’s why the way Smith-Njigba carries himself resonates with teammates on both sides of the ball.
“Had one of the most historic years in the NFL at the receiver position, and the guy doesn’t come in and act like he’s this or he’s that, man,” Hall said. “Jax is calm, collected. What he’s done (on the field) hasn’t affected what he has continued to do — his work. Also, the way he interacts with (everyone), he hasn’t changed at all. Jax is a great player, but also an even better person.”
Smith-Njigba is the best offensive player on the highest-scoring Seahawks team franchise history. In the playoffs, he has 13 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Smith-Njigba is one of the reasons Seattle, which finished third in scoring average this season, is favored to win the Super Bowl.
Smith-Njigba entered this season as Seattle’s No. 1 receiver and the top name on opponent scouting reports. All season, teams have tried to minimize Smith-Njigba’s impact. Some have trusted a single cornerback to shadow him throughout the game. Others have stayed true to their scheme and relied on whoever lines up across from Smith-Njigba to do their jobs. Opponents have gotten creative with double teams, deploying assistance from over top and underneath, especially when Smith-Njigba is in the backfield or the slot.
Few have discovered a recipe for success. Outside of a 23-yard outing against the Vikings in Week 13, Smith-Njigba has had a significant impact on all of Seattle’s wins in the regular season. They won that game 26-0. Smith-Njigba had just 19 yards (and a touchdown) in the divisional round. The Seahawks won that game by 35 points.
“Just watching teams going out there, they couldn’t really stop him,” rookie defensive back Nick Emmanwori said. “Double coverage, safety over top, knowing he’s going to get the ball, and he’s still out there making plays. Shoutout to (offensive coordinator) Klint (Kubiak), too, scheming him up and finding ways for him to get open, knowing teams are going to double him and sometimes triple him.”
When Smith-Njigba isn’t getting the ball, the attention he receives from the defense creates easy opportunities for others. The Seahawks reached this stage in part because of Smith-Njigba’s gravity.
On Bobo’s 17-yard touchdown in the NFC title game, for example, the Rams doubled Smith-Njigba and left his teammates one-on-one with cornerback Cobie Durant in the end zone. Bobo won on his route, and a player with two regular-season receptions made a game-changing play in a massive moment. And Bobo was the No. 1 option on that play because Seattle anticipated Los Angeles allocating multiple bodies to Smith-Njigba.
During their media sessions this week, Smith-Njigba’s teammates gave versions of the same answer when asked why their WR1 should be crowned the league’s best offensive player: “Watch the tape.” The tape, they say, doesn’t just show a dominant player — it also shows a third-year player coming into his own as a leader and a selfless player, willing to draw double team so others can thrive.
In other words, it shows the best in the world.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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