Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba Really the Best Route-Runner in the NFL?

Kristopher KnoxJan 29, 2026

Only one game remains in the 2025-26 NFL season, but it's a big one. On February 8, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will face off in Super Bowl LX. While fans may spend the next week or so debating which team has the edge at each key position, Seattle would appear to have the best receiver in the matchup—and maybe even the entire NFL—in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

The term "best" is, of course, subjective. Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards (1,793) this past season, which certainly aids the argument that he's the league's top wideout. However, the 6'0", 197-pound pass-catcher doesn't quite have the breakaway speed of Tyreek Hill or the size-speed combination of George Pickens.

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What makes Smith-Njigba great is his ability to separate, a skill that will be on display in the Super Bowl and might just put the Ohio State product in a category of his own.

In a series of polls recently conducted by B/R Gridiron, Smith-Njigba was voted "Most Likely to Route Up Your Favorite Cornerback," narrowly beating out Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua. Smith-Njigba, Nacua, and Ja'Marr Chase made up this year's first-team All-Pro receiving corps.

There's no questioning the fact that Smith-Njigba is one of the NFL's best receivers, but is he really the league's best route-runner, or is he simply the first filthy route-runner who comes to fans' minds? Let's see what the film and the data have to say.

As a Route-Runner, Smith-Njigba is Truly Special

The first question we must ask is whether Smith-Njigba is why Smith-Njigba is so successful at creating separation. He has good length for his position, but he isn't as big as other top receivers like Pickens (6'3", 200 lbs) and Nacua (6'2", 216 lbs).

With 4.48 speed, the former Buckeye is fast, but not to the point that he'll win with speed alone.

What makes Smith-Njigba special is an ability to identify coverage, shake defenders, and find open space in the secondary, while also maintaining timing with his quarterback. It's a skill set that was evident during Smith-Njigba's college days.

"Smith-Njigba is a crafty, nimble route-runner with exceptional flexibility and burst," Derrik Klassen wrote for the B/R Scouting Department in 2023. "...Additionally, Smith-Njigba does well traversing across the field, showing great awareness of zones and leverage to slip into free space undeterred."

Over the last three years, the 23-year-old has become great at identifying and exploiting holes in NFL defenses.

The ability to quickly identify coverage and find open grass is a desired trait for NFL pass-catchers. Smith-Njigba is able to maximize this skill with efficient steps, fast cuts, and a capacity to change direction without breaking stride.

While running, Smith-Njigba almost seems to glide across the field. He often remains a step ahead of defenders because he rarely telegraphs directional changes with head or shoulder movements.

Fox color analyst Tom Brady, who knows a thing or two about good receiver play, marveled at Smith-Njigba's route-running against L.A. during the NFC Championship Game:

"He's so graceful with his body control. He's like an ice skater out there when I see him run routes. He glides and his shoulder plane never dips. It's always the same height. A lot of receivers, when they run, if they're speeding up or stopping, their shoulder planes will rise or fall. He maintains the same shoulder plane when he runs his route."

Smith-Njigba's route prowess has allowed him to become one of the NFL's preeminent go-to receivers, even if he's rarely the biggest or fastest player on the field.

During the regular season, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold posted a quarterback rating of 99.1 overall. Smith-Njigba provided a QB rating of 116.4 when targeted in 2025, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Data Says Smith-Njigba is Special Too, Though Not in His Own Category

So, Smith-Njigba is a great route-runner. Few are going to argue that. However, one can certainly argue that he isn't the very best in the NFL. Nacua, for example, may have a size advantage over his Seattle counterpart, but he's certainly capable of creating space while on the move.

In 2025, at least, it Smith-Njigba and Nacua were clearly the NFL's top two receivers. Nacua ranked first in receptions (129) and second in receiving yards (1,715). They were the only two receivers who topped 1,500 receiving yards this past season.

Nacua was also ranked ahead of Smith-Njigba for the 2025 season by Pro Football Focus. In fact, PFF credited Nacua with having one of the best seasons by a receiver in NFL history.

Now, it's worth noting that Nauca seemed to get an edge over Smith-Njigba for his work after the catch—which some may not tie to route-running ability.

"No receiver was better after the catch or at the catchpoint, as he paced the league in yards after the catch (678), yards after contact (388), first downs (80), contested catches (27) and missed tackles forced (25)," PFF's Lauren Gray wrote.

Smith-Njigba, meanwhile, was the league leader in catching intermediate and deep routes.

"Finally, he was perfect from 20-plus yards out (99.9 PFF receiving grade), leading the league in catches (16) and receiving yards (614) from that depth of the field. Smith-Njigba's 99.2 PFF receiving grade on passes targeted 10-plus yards downfield paced the NFL this season," Gray wrote.

PFF's receiving grade placed Smith-Njigba (93.7) narrowly behind Nacua (96.1). Both receivers worked all areas of the field well. Beyond the line of scrimmage, each posted a PFF grade above 90 in all depths except for one.

Nacua posted a 72.3 grade in the intermediate outside left zone, while Smith-Njigba posted an 89.7 grade in the short between-the-numbers zone.

It's obvious that Smith-Njigba and Nacua can both attack all areas of the field. Was one more efficient than the other? That's a bit subjective overall, but on a play-by-play basis, not really.

According to PFF, Smith-Njigba and Nacua tied for the league-lead in yards per route run (3.57).

According to Pro Football Reference, though, Smith-Njigba (11.0) had a slight edge over Nacua (10.3) in yards per target. According to ESPN Analytics—which is based on data from NFL Next Gen Stats—Smith-Njigba also had the edge in Open Score.

Here's a brief explanation of Open Score from ESPN's Brian Burke:

"For every route run, Open Score assesses the likelihood a receiver would be able to complete a catch, conditional on if he were targeted. The assessment takes place a moment before pass release (0.2 seconds prior), because defenders read the shoulders of the quarterback at release and break on the targeted receiver."

According to ESPN Analytics, Smith-Njigba tied for the league's best Open Score at 86, while Nacua tied for third at 84.

Smith-Njigba and Nacua were unquestionably the two most prolific receivers in the NFL this past season. Both pass the eye test as elite pass-catchers and route-runners. The data suggests that the two were almost equally productive on a down-by-down basis—with Nacua perhaps a little better after the catch and overall.

Now, here's something that's interesting, given next week's Super Bowl matchup. The receiver who tied Smith-Njigba for the league's best Open Score was none other than Patriots wideout Stefon Diggs.

Diggs was also close behind Nacua in yards per target (9.9) and led the NFL in ESPN Analytics' Catch Score by a large margin—Diggs had a catch score of 97, while George Kittle and Kayshon Boutte tied with a Catch Score of 91.

Diggs also received the top overall score (92) from ESPN Analytics, while Nacua (90) and Smith-Njigba (87) rounded out the top three.

So for any New England fans who fear that their team has a clear-cut disadvantage at receiver in this year's Super Bowl matchup, at least one data set says otherwise.

Conclusion: Perception is Reality

As previously mentioned, the term "best" is always subjective in the NFL. Until we know every play call, every route-progression, and every coverage assignment on every play, that's not going to change.

Stats, game tape, and metrics certainly aren't enough to settle an argument.

One can argue that Smith-Njigba has to be a better route-runner than Nacua since he's a smaller receiver, got open more frequently, and was less prolific after the catch. One could also argue that Smith-Njigba benefited from having a significantly larger target share than Nacua (35.8 percent versus 28.5 percent).

Of course, one could also argue that Chase would be considered better than both Smith-Njigba and Nacua if only Joe Burrow had stayed healthy in 2025.

What can't be argued is that Smith-Njigba is one of the top playmakers in the NFL, has established himself as an elite route-runner, and is taking full advantage of the best QB of his career and a creative play-caller in Klint Kubiak.

This combination of skills and situation has Smith-Njigba at least in the conversation as the league's best receiver.

And if the fans say that Smith-Njigba is also the league's best route-runner? Well, the film certainly supports that argument, while the data doesn't provide enough to definitively argue against it.

Oh, and as for what the fans have to say, here's a look at how all of the B/R Gridiron Award polls panned out:

Most Ethical Quarterback:

Matthew Stafford (3,300 Votes)

Drake Maye (2,279)

Sam Darnold (1,179

Lamar Jackson (943)

Most Likely to Shut Down Your WR1

Pat Surtain II (34,121 Votes)

Christian Gonzalez (9,869)

Derek Stingley Jr. (6,795)

Quinyon Mitchell (4,810)

Most Likely to Route up Your Favorite CB