Jaxon Smith-Njigba
vs Lamar Jackson

“Last week, with backup QB Drew Lock starting in place of the injured Sam Darnold (who’s expected back soon), Smith-Njigba had nine catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Smith is the Renoir of route runners. The Seahawks were featured in this summer’s HBO “Hard Knocks” series, and there was a fascinating segment that showed Smith-Njigba practicing his routes alone as teammates and coaches talked about his talents.”

“Through two games, Smith-Njigba has caught 17 of 22 targets for 277 yards and four TDs . That is a 77.3% catch rate while averaging 138.5 receiving yards per game , making it abundantly clear that he is picking up right where he left off as one of the premier WRs in fantasy. Next up is Washington, and as a Commanders fan, I am already preparing for the reckoning.”

“Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 11 targets, 9 rec Much like ARSB, I don’t need to go into much detail for JSN. He was drafted to be a stud and is paying off through two weeks. He has seen over a 40% target share in both games so far, and there’s no reason to believe that will come crashing down anytime soon, if at all.”

“IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 11 targets, 8 rec Another familiar name on the list, JSN’s 11 targets equated to a massive 46% target share. He led the NFL with a 36% target share last season, which may not be as unsustainable as it seems. Those targets, however, may be coming from Drew Lock for the next few games.”

“It was quite the surprise to see Jaxon Smith-Njigba available after the first four selections. We did weigh some of the running back options available, but ultimately felt that Smith-Njigba is the type of talent that can set you far apart from the rest of the league.”

“Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off a season in which he had 35.8% of the Seahawks' targets and 50% of the team’s air yards He also led the league in receiving yards.”

“It was a truly special year for Jaxon Smith-Njigba , who led the league in receiving yards (1,793) and helped the Seahawks reach the Super Bowl. He also scored 10 touchdowns and was targeted a whopping 163 times (119 receptions).”

“It was a truly special year for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, leading the league in receiving yards and helping the Seahawks to a Super Bowl. The only cause for concern is Klint Kubiak, the former offensive coordinator, moving to become the Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints and a potential dip in efficiency from Sam Darnold .”

“Like Nacua, Smith-Njigba ranked outside the top 20 wide receivers in total routes run, at just 495 despite perfect health. Seattle was a run-first team by choice last year, but they also played a lot of un-competitive 2nd halves — at times induced by a Smith-Njigba eruption. I could see the team’s PROE rising given the changeover in their backfield, and could especially see the actual pass rate rise if the team plays more competitive games.”

“In both of his matchups with the Cowboys, Jackson has run for 181 yards and a TD.”

“Lamar Jackson has a massive ceiling in what projects to be a high-scoring matchup against the Cowboys. Dallas was getting torched by Jayden Daniels before he went down with an injury, which bodes well for Jackson’s outlook in this spot. With his ability to make plays through the air and on the ground, Jackson has the potential to put up a monster performance here.”

“But Jackson has looked far more like his electric self at the start of this season than he did in 2025. By the end of the season, he should be right up next to (OK, maybe behind) Allen as a top-tier fantasy quarterback.”

“Unfortunately, Jackson had arguably his worst season as a starter in 2025. He missed four games because of injury and played part of the year hurt. The superstar finished as the QB14 on a points-per-game basis among qualifying quarterbacks, averaging 19.8 fantasy points per contest. However, I expect a bounce-back season for Jackson, especially with Declan Doyle taking over as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator.”

“If Lamar Jackson can bounce back, Henry could inch back closer to his 2024 production (RB4 in fantasy points per game).”

“With plenty of time to recover from last season, Jackson is a ticking time bomb for fantasy production.”

“Jackson's 2025 performance was marred by injury and a subpar level of play (by his standards). Therefore, while he has tremendous leverage by virtue of the restructure and the $84.34MM cap number it created for 2027, he may want to come to the negotiating table on the heels of a better season.”

“Jackson mentioned that Doyle is running a completely different system from what Todd Monken deployed last season, while there are some concepts from what Greg Roman ran in 2022. Jackson expects more "explosiveness" this season, and Doyle is proving to be a very creative playcaller. "I feel like there's going to be a lot of explosiveness this year," Jackson said. "The way Declan calls plays and his creativity with his mind — how detailed he is — it's mind-blowing. I'm excited."”

“It was only a season ago that we saw Jackson finish as the QB1 with 425 fantasy points. That was his second time surpassing 400 fantasy points, a threshold that Allen has never exceeded.”

“Over his final eight starts, Jackson was the QB29 in fantasy points per game (11.9). He completed just 57.6% of his passes (28th) with 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He had the highest inaccurate throw rate in the league over that span (15.8%).”