Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images -[Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

‘Best QB-Wide Receiver Connection’ – NFL Analyst Commends the Sam Darnold – Jaxon Smith-Njigba Chemistry as Best in League!

The Seahawks are thriving under the Darnold and Smith-Njigba connection!

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images -[Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

The Seattle Seahawks are off to a good start this season with a 4-2 record that has them in second place in the NFC West. While the defense has been doing an outstanding job of allowing under 20 points per game, the chemistry between Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has stood out on offense.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba Unquestioned WR1 This Season

Entering his third year in the NFL, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is now the true WR1 for Seattle. During the offseason, both of the Seahawks’ former veteran receivers, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, left the team for various reasons.

Although the Seahawks signed Cooper Kupp, there is no question that this offense now runs through the 23-year-old Smith-Njigba. That has resulted in him putting up massive numbers. In fact, Smith-Njigba is averaging almost twice the number of yards per game than he did last season.

Another part of that reason is that the third-year receiver is playing more on the outside than in his first couple of seasons. It shows his versatility and the ability to run the longer routes, and he is not limited to being just a slot receiver.

After the first 6 games of the season, Smith-Njigba is the leading receiver with 696 receiving yards. He has eclipsed 100 yards receiving in 4 of his 6 games thus far and came within 4 yards of making that 5 games with 100+ receiving yards.

#Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba this season:

Week 1: 9 catches, 124 yds
Week 2: 8 catches, 103 yds
Week 3: 5 catches, 96 yds, 1 TD
Week 4: 4 catches, 79 yds
Week 5: 8 catches, 132 yds, 1 TD
Week 6: 8 catches, 162 yds, 1 TD

Superstar. pic.twitter.com/P13lhEDnKU
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 13, 2025

Darnold and Smith-Njigba Connection

Despite Smith-Njigba’s huge production this season, the success is not only his. Sam Darnold, who had a career-resurrecting season in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, has carried over that form to this season as well.

However, his chemistry with Smith-Njigba is off the charts. The overall eye test is a good metric to judge this, but the stats provide a clearer picture. Speaking on her podcast, ‘Up & Adams’, NFL Analyst Kay Adams listed out the reasons why this pair is currently the top QB-WR duo in the league through the first 6 weeks of the 2025-26 NFL season.

For Darnold, whenever he is throwing in the direction of Smith-Njigba, he has a near-perfect passer rating of 134.2, which currently ranks third in the league. The duo has connected on 75% of their targets, which is the 5th best in the league. Additionally, Smith-Njigba is averaging 4.6 yards per pass-play, and that places him at the top of the league.

Sam Darnold has been basically perfect on 15+ yard throws this year 🚀 https://t.co/FoM3CgJpJU pic.twitter.com/G3oxzNcaDM
— PFF (@PFF) October 13, 2025

What is even more interesting about this duo’s overall production is the fact that the Seahawks are one of the top run-game teams in the league, with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet having 138 carries among themselves.

With so many things going right for the Seahawks on both sides of the ball, Seattle is in an excellent position to push for a deep playoff run this season. And without a doubt, the Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba connection will have to lead the way.

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images -[Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

NFL

Sam Darnold

Seattle Seahawks

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!