The Seattle Seahawks beefed up their defense with their top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Pete Carroll's club added a playmaker for Geno Smith with its second first-round selection.
The Seahawks snagged Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba with the No. 20 overall pick on Thursday night.
JSN became the first receiver selected in the 2023 draft and started a run of four consecutive wideouts off the board: Quentin Johnston to the Chargers, Zay Flowers to the Ravens and Jordan Addison to the Vikings.
The 6-foot-1 wideout boasts polished route running, strong hands and great contested-catch ability that should immediately translate into the NFL.
Smith-Njigba's first-round selection caps what many have seen as a foregone conclusion since his breakout performance in the 2022 Rose Bowl, a game in which he exploded for 15 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns in the 48-45 shootout between the Buckeyes and Utah Utes. That contest was Smith-Njigba's introduction to the football world outside of Columbus, as he filled the void left by Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson's decisions to sit out of the game (in order to prepare for their eventual first-round selections in the 2022 draft) in a big way, powering an Ohio State offense that racked up 683 yards of total offense.
That game was also the high point of Smith-Njigba's career at Ohio State. The slot receiver only played in three games in the following season due to a hamstring injury that limited his availability and expedited his preparation for this year's draft. The decision to play it safe paid off for Smith-Njigba, who performed well enough at the NFL Scouting Combine and Ohio State's pro day to cement his place as the top receiver in the class.
The Seahawks are buying what Smith-Njigba's performance sold to the football world, spending a first-round pick on a receiver who earned third-team All-American and All-Big Ten honors in 2021 before playing sparingly in his final season.
He joins a potent Seahawks receiver corps alongside DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Smith-Njigba should fit perfectly to form a dynamic trio with his ability to play from the slot.
Seattle has been trying to find a third fiddle in the WR corps, using a second-round pick on D'Wayne Eskridge in 2021. JSN is an immediate upgrade that gives Smith the ability to distribute the ball all over the field.
