Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald expects Jaxon Smith-Njigba to be a “massive piece” of the team's offense in 2024.
www.elevenwarriors.com
FORMER OHIO STATE WIDE RECEIVER JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA A “MASSIVE PIECE” OF SEATTLE SEAHAWKS’ OFFENSE IN 2024
There are days when even the brightest stars at wide receiver might struggle to catch seven total passes in live team reps during a given practice.
In one OTA training session this May, Jaxon Smith-Njigba hauled in seven touchdown throws from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith – two in seven-on-seven work and five more in full 11-on-11, per ESPN's Brady Henderson.
Hype is growing around what the former Buckeye and first-round 2023 NFL draft pick can accomplish in his second year with the Seahawks, and there are plans from their coaching staff to utilize him more than he was a year ago.
“Every day I feel like my confidence is building,” Smith-Njigba said in June. “Even if I don’t score seven touchdowns, I try to tell the guys, ‘Good days, bad days, mediocre days’ – which we can’t really have, which we don’t want to have – but we have to use those days and just build to get better. Not every day is going to be like that, not every day is going to be perfect, but I can use every day to challenge myself and to be better the next day.”
If any resentment exists between former Michigan defensive coordinator turned Seattle first-year head coach Mike Macdonald and Smith-Njigba, it sure didn’t show through when Macdonald gave his thoughts on the pass-catcher. Macdonald’s year with the Wolverines overlapped with Smith-Njigba’s lone season starting at Ohio State that wasn’t derailed by injury, 2021, with UM taking down the Buckeyes 42-27.
“He's a guy that we can focus our offense around, with our guys,” Macdonald said in June. “Tyler Lockett is still a great player. DK Metcalf, phenomenal player, Noah Fant. I mean, (Smith-Njigba) is definitely going to be a massive piece of what we're trying to do offensively.”
.
.
.
continued