The Seattle Seahawks received a scare when leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a late addition to the Week 3 injury report and suddenly became questionable to face the New Orleans Saints. However, as of gameday morning, the team expects him to take the field.
Smith-Njigba came up with an illness on Friday, but it is unlikely to affect his availability, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. Schefter described his issue as merely “a bug” and noted that the Seahawks wanted to see how he felt on Sunday morning before removing his questionable tag.
The Seahawks never seemed to doubt his availability, as they did not activate any receivers from the practice squad for the Saints game. Seattle has just five active wideouts for Week 3 and have been down to just four if Smith-Njigba could not go.
Smith-Njigba has been posting elite numbers through two games. The third-year pass-catcher already has 17 catches for 227 passing yards and has eclipsed the century mark in both outings. The only blemish of his stat line so far is that his first touchdown of the year has yet to come.
Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in for big outing against Saints
Assuming he plays without limitations, Smith-Njigba's strong start to the 2025 season should continue in Week 3. The Saints have deployed zone defense at the 11th-highest rate through two games, according to Pro Football Focus, against which Smith-Njigba thrives.
Smith-Njigba has been elite against all defenses thus far, but he has been remarkably efficient against zone. Smith-Njigba has an elite 51.6 percent target share against zone coverage schemes, notching 4.35 yards per route run.
Despite playing in the slot for most of his first two seasons, Smith-Njigba has lined up on the outside on over 75 percent of his snaps in 2025 since the Seahawks added Cooper Kupp in the offseason. The positional adjustment has had hardly any effect on his play.
Smith-Njigba's individual matchups should also favor him in Week 3. The Saints' top two cornerbacks, Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry, are both posting league-average coverage numbers thus far, but are still a step back from the defenders Smith-Njigba has gone against in the first two weeks. Smith-Njigba torched the likes of Deommodore Lenoir, Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay in Weeks 1 and 2, and will only give Brandon Staley fits in Week 3.
