Jaxon Smith-Njigba was in Seattle this week for the Seahawks' offseason program, and after being selected by the team with the No. 20 overall pick in the NFL Draft, he was appreciative of the team for slowly ramping him up from injury.

“I think we did it the right way,” Smith-Njigba said on Tuesday, according to The Seattle Times' Bob Condotta. “I appreciate the training staff and the coaching staff for doing that. It's been a long time since I've really been out there since when I started OTAs, so I feel like we did it the right way, and I appreciate them just slowly building me up, and I feel like we are all ready to go and checked a lot of boxes.”

The Rockwall, TX native played just three games and 60 snaps in 2022 with the Ohio State Buckeyes due to a hamstring injury, but he's beginning to find his comfort zone in Seattle in 2023.

“It's been awesome connecting with the guys, finally being in the building and not dealing with all the draft stuff and just being on my team and just moving forward with those guys and getting to know these guys better,” the 21-year-old said. “I've enjoyed it. It's what I've been looking forward to for a long time.”

After OTAs this week, Smith-Njigba plans to go back to Texas, but mentioned that he will be back in Seattle earlier than the July 25 date to report to training camp to continue to get acclimated with the team.

The Seahawks plan to use the young wideout in three-receiver sets along with veterans DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in 2023. Head coach Pete Carroll has already said that the 6-foot-1, 196-pound player is “just what we're looking for,” and veteran Lockett also had high praise for the first-rounder.

“I think he's going to be phenomenal, man,” Lockett said. “It's always hard just being able to get adjusted when you first come in. But the way he runs routes, the way he's understanding the way that [receivers coach] Sanjay [Lal] coaches, the sky's going to be the limit. I think he's going to be really good at all the things that the Seahawks want him to be able to do.”

It looks like Jaxon Smith-Njigba is already making a great impression on the Seahawks and with the injury behind him, he figures to make an immediate impact in 2023.