Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Ohio State, Wide Receiver 6’1″ 196 lbs
2022 Receiving: 5 receptions 43 yards
2021 Receiving: 95 receptions 1606 yards, 9 TDs
Pros
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN) has the most natural ability in this wide receiver class. JSN as a sophomore was a force to be reckoned with, with 1606 yards and 95 receptions. An injury-plagued junior season put a damper on his stock. Then past teammates came out to defend him.
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were Njigba’s teammates up until 2021. Where he outproduced Olave and Wilson. If they were surefire 1st round picks. Is there really an argument?
We know the stats for his sophomore year, but what you didn’t see is how much he actually did for his team. Njigba did a lot of dirty work. Making sure he got his other wide receivers open, blocking for them, and making sure they were lined up correctly. His vision at the line of scrimmage is next level.
In addition, he is also good at tracking the ball in the air to make sure he has an attempt to catch it. His routes are fluid (more on this later) and my favorite route by far is his underneath route. He has an uncanny ability to work his way behind defenders and be wide-open going across the field.
Cons
Remember when I said his routes are fluid? Most of the time this is a good thing. In Njigba’s case, it might not be. Too much fluidity makes his routes look rounded off at times.
He also doesn’t disguise his routes enough in regard to planting and going into the next move of the route. Maybe he didn’t have to, but if you can’t fake out the defensive back. You better be good at contested catches.
Meanwhile, Njigba can sometimes quit on routes when a defensive back was getting physical with him. Adding some weight and working on the plant foot, would do JSN good in the future.
The hamstring injury that left him sidelined most of 2022 is all but healed leaving GMs to decide if he is injury prone or not. Usually having injuries in college negates your draft stock. In this case, it was for the protection of that.
Summary
I believe Jaxon Smith – Njigba to be a very good complement to an alpha receiver and possibly develop into one; if he goes to where his quarterback CJ Stroud goes. He would benefit from it. We have seen this work with Jamaar Chase and Joe Burrow.
If he doesn’t get drafted to the same team as CJ Stroud, I would like him to be a slot for another team like Minnesota or Seattle or be the third option down in Miami. They would play to his strengths and make him comfortable in the NFL.
Time, with a lot of the receivers this year, is what they need. Be patient, Njigba will be the first one to showcase his skill, because he is the most NFL ready. His hands are the best of the class and he will have a lot of playing time with a team if training camp and learning the playbook go well.
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From a fantasy perspective, he is one of the top 3 wide receivers in the class. It’s based on personal preference. Do you want the big-body receiver in Quentin Johnston? Possibly. Do you feel Addison may be a little better? You could.
I think Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a little more polished than both of the aforementioned and should be the WR1 taken off the board in rookie drafts.
2023 Dynasty Rookie Draft Projection: 1st round
Ideal Role: Slot receiver
Player Comp: Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry
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