The Jaxon Smith-Njigba Disrespect Needs To Stop

What happened to one of the most prolific receiving talents from 2021?

Injuries stole a promising 2022 campaign from Ohio State star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN), which made people quick to forget what he had to offer.

After missing most of the season, receivers like Jordan Addison, Quentin Johnston, and Rashee Rice gained the spotlight, leaving JSN as the forgotten prospect.

Bio

Smith-Njigba burst onto the scene in 2021 by way of setting the Big Ten receiving yards record (1,606). Although he seemingly came out of nowhere, he certainly wasn’t overlooked in high school. The Ohio State star left Rockwall High School as a five-star and the No. 29 ranked player in the country, so expectations were high coming in.

The 2019 Texas 6A State Player of the Year ended his collegiate sophomore season on an unbelievable note by setting a Rose Bowl record with 347 receiving yards and 15 receptions, along with the MVP award.

JSN managed to only be on the field for 60 plays this season before suffering a hamstring injury, which he seemingly never recovered from.

Strengths

JSN was a part of one of the most prolific offenses in college football in 2021.

He was the main cog in a passing attack that ranked amongst the best. He shined in a receivers group at Ohio State, which included two 2022 first-round picks in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.

What made Smith-Njigba the main guy was his ability to find open space and create enough separation to always give himself a chance at the football.

JSN uses his fluid hips and a rare sense of awareness to be in the right place at the right time. His route running ability is among the best in this class, even without top-end speed or burst.

He is shifty, which also makes him lethal after the catch (8.3 YPC/Rec in 2021, No. 3 in CFB among players with 100+ targets). He won’t necessarily run people over, but he has a knack for making defenders miss, which makes the slot position and screen plays perfect for him.

The 6’1″ wideout has great ball skills and an above-average catch radius despite his smaller stature. He has incredible balance, which is partially due to his great awareness, as seen by his plethora of sideline catches.

No. 11 finds production on all levels of the field.

To describe JSN in three words, he is smooth, technical, and focused. Those three things will make a great receiver at the next level.

Weaknesses

Let’s just get this out of the way, the whole injury thing this year is a bit concerning. Hopefully, his hamstring injury was more of a lingering issue that should fix itself over the offseason rather than a bigger chronic issue.

Other than that, his game doesn’t have too many holes.

JSN isn’t the most athletically imposing player. He won’t outrun most corners, looking like he may test in the high 4.4-low 4.5s (40-yard-dash). He will struggle against lengthy corners on jump ball opportunities.

Aside from those things, there’s only one other potential concern…

He just hasn’t faced a ton of press coverage in the Big Ten.

Despite that, he has done well against man coverage, catching 27 of 32 passes for almost 400 yards and four touchdowns against man-to-man in 2021.

He also played slot over 85% of the time in college, so he does benefit from free releases fairly often. Concentration drops also happen from time to time, having six drops in 2021 as well.

Summary

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a lost year in 2022, but he has a whole lot of talent regardless. Expect teams to be a bit shy towards him due to his not-eye popping athletic skills and the injury.

In my opinion, those things shouldn’t be much of an issue so long as he understands he can’t out-athlete people. If he can continue working to perfect his craft as a technical route-runner, he should thrive in the NFL.

The numbers, the projection and the game film reviewed

#11 Jaxon Smith-Njigba 6-foot-1, 200 pounds

Brandon Martinez’s Grade: First Round (Mid)

2021 game film reviewed: Oregon, Penn State, and Nebraska

2022 game film reviewed: Notre Dame

2021 stats: 13 games, 95 catches, 1,606 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns

2022 stats: 3 games, 5 catches, 43 receiving yards

Brandon Martinez is a contributor for The Landry Hat, First Round Mock and currently attends Purdue University. He has also previously contributed to Spartan Avenue and was the site expert for Gig ’em Gazette. He can be followed on Twitter @BrandonA_MTZ.