RENTON, Wash. -- There is no shortage of ways to contextualize the video game-like numbers that Jaxon Smith-Njigba has put up over the Seahawks' 2-1 start, but we'll begin here: Seattle's All-Pro wideout is only the second player in NFL history with at least 400 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns over the first three games of a season, according to ESPN Research.
Marvin Harrison Sr. did that with the Indianapolis Colts in 1999. Smith-Njigba joined him last Sunday, when he caught 10 passes for 128 yards and two more scores in the Seahawks' 33-31 loss to the Washington Commanders.
"He is so special," Seahawks safety Julian Love said. "I get home from the game and my wife's like, 'Wow, so they really can't cover Jaxon.' If she's mentioning something about football, that's how you know it's real."
After leading the NFL last season with 1,793 receiving yards, which ranks eighth in NFL history for a season, and winning AP Offensive Player of the Year, the JSN show is off and running again. Heading into the Seahawks' Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Chargers (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) at Lumen Field, his 405 receiving yards and six receiving scores lead all players, while his 27 catches are tied for tops in the league.
It's too early to start talking seriously about the pace that puts him on (34 touchdowns and almost 2,300 yards), but it is fair to ask whether Smith-Njigba -- in his fourth NFL season and his second catching passes from Sam Darnold -- might have gotten better since he signed a record-setting $168.6 million contract extension this summer.
According to ESPN Research, he's the first player since the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson in 2011 with six receiving scores through the first three games of a season. That ties the Seahawks' record that Daryl Turner set over the first three games of 1985.
"It's going to sound silly, but a huge part of it is knowing what we're doing as an offense," Darnold said of Smith-Njigba's start. "Him being locked into our game plan, doing everything that he can throughout the week to prepare himself mentally to hear the call, hear the concept and just going out there and playing fast. Because obviously, when he goes out there and plays fast, he can play ball at that point. He's not running the route like it's supposed to be drawn on paper. He's going out there, finding space and us being on the same page. That's what it's about.
"If they're taking him away, usually that leaves someone else on the field open to go out there and make plays, which I feel like our guys have been doing a good job of."
One notable instance of that came on Seattle's last touchdown against Washington, during which Smith-Njigba drew two defenders at the goal line and created enough traffic to free up Cooper Kupp for a 7-yard score. Yet, an outsized portion of the Seahawks' passing game is still going through their No. 1 receiver. Smith-Njigba has received 37.2% of Seattle's targets so far. No other NFL player has a target share over 34%, and Smith-Njigba's current mark is a slight increase from his 35.9% target share last season. That was the highest the league had seen since Brandon Marshall's 40.3% mark with the Chicago Bears in 2012.
It has raised anew the question of whether it's sustainable for one receiver to shoulder that much of the passing game.
"I think I got this question last year," coach Mike Macdonald said. "But yeah, Jax is off to a great start. We've got great players around him. The ball's going to find other guys at some point."
Smith-Njigba's 35 targets are almost three times as many as Rashid Shaheed and tight end AJ Barner, who each have 12. Kupp, who's second on the team in receiving yards with 101, is next in targets with 10.
"There's a lot of plays in the plan that are designed to go to other people," offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said. "In certain situations obviously, we lean towards Jax because of what he brings to the table. But the defense is really responsible for where the ball goes, in all honesty. If they take away the first part of the progression, then it goes to two or three, and we've got really talented players in all those situations. It just hasn't found its way all the way back to the backside of the progression yet very often."
When the Seahawks re-signed Shaheed to a three-year, $51 million deal in March after he tested free agency, it was an indication that they expected him to be a bigger part of their passing game than he was after his midseason arrival via trade in 2025, when his biggest contributions came on special teams.
So far, though, Shaheed has caught six passes for 53 yards. He might have had a gain of 20-plus yards if not for a drop in Week 2.
"Sheed's doing a great job," Macdonald said. "I think we've just got to stick to our process. There's always something that maybe we want to improve in our game, but we've just got to keep attacking it, stick with it, make some tweaks in how we approach everything and trust that the ball will go in the right direction and it'll find him, but he's doing a good job."
No. 4 receiver Tory Horton is back from the shin injury that cut short his rookie season after he had five touchdown catches in eight games. He also missed the opener because of a hamstring injury. When he caught all three of his targets for 48 yards on only 15 snaps against Washington, it was a reminder that if the Seahawks are intent on spreading the ball more, they don't lack viable threats outside of Smith-Njigba.
Then again, they don't seem overly concerned about fixing something that isn't necessarily broken. Smith-Njigba's catch rate of 77.1% is seventh best among wide receivers with at least 15 targets through three games, according to ESPN Research. If he catches two more touchdown passes Sunday, he'd tie the Super Bowl-era record through four games, which Johnson also set in 2011.
"Jax has done an unbelievable job maximizing the opportunities that he's had," Kupp said. "There's no getting around that. He's done an unbelievable job. He's playing very efficient right now. Offensively, I think there's opportunities for guys to get targets and things like that based on what the defense is giving you. One thing about it is the defense would have to take Jax away then, right? He's doing such a good job getting open. Shoot, throw the ball to him. He's open.
"That's one of those things that shifts and moves as the season goes on and as you get into game plans. I trust our coaches to make sure we're in good spots for that."
