Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,793 — more than he’d had in his first two seasons combined — on 119 catches with 10 touchdowns. What was arguably most impressive about his third NFL season was his consistency: Smith-Njigba accumulated 72 or more receiving yards in 15 of his 17 games.
Not surprisingly, Smith-Njigba was named one of three unanimous All-Pro selections for the 2025 NFL season.
When the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf and signed Cooper Kupp last offseason, there was some question about whether Smith-Njigba was ready to take over the No. 1 receiver spot — especially with a new quarterback in Sam Darnold. That concern, it turned out, was unnecessary, as Darnold and Smith-Njigba formed one of the best passing combinations in the NFL last season.
In Week 1, Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 124 yards. He averaged 119.4 yards over his first 11 games of the season and helped the Seahawks to their best record (14-3) in franchise history and helped the team earn its fourth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Smith-Njigba also became the first player to lead the NFL in receiving yards while playing for the No. 1 seed in his conference since Hall of Famer Jerry Rice did it in 1994, going on to win Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers that season.
Part of the reason for JSN’s increased production was in the way the Seahawks used him. According to Next Gen Stats, Smith-Njigba led the NFL in deep receiving yards during the 2025 season with 542, which was 88 more than the next closest player (CeeDee Lamb, 454). Smith-Njigba also led the league in deep receptions with 13, marking a stark contrast to his deep production during his first two seasons in the NFL. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined, he had only 11 deep receptions for 325 yards on 25 targets.
This marked the seventh straight season the Offensive Player of the Year Award was given to a non-quarterback, breaking a two-year streak by running backs, with Saquon Barkley taking home the award in 2024 and McCaffrey winning it in 2023. The last QB to win the award was Patrick Mahomes in 2018 when he also won MVP honors.
