By admin 
Six targets is a light day for Jaxon Smith-Njigba by the standard he set in September. That was his workload in the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Chargers, after games of 11, 11 and 14, and it came in a game when quarterback Sam Darnold threw only 22 passes and Seattle ran for 138 yards.
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It did little to change the larger picture. Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with six touchdown catches, is third in the league with 481 receiving yards and accounts for nearly half of Seattle’s receiving yards. On Sunday he sees a 49ers defense that has been as hard to throw downfield against as any in the league. Here is what to expect from him.
At least 10 targets after a six-target week
Smith-Njigba has 42 of Seattle’s targets, and no teammate has more than 15. The Week 4 dip tracked with the game plan. Running back Emanuel Wilson, whose stock jumped against Los Angeles, carried 21 times, and Darnold’s 22 attempts were fewer than half of the 45 he threw a week earlier at Washington, when Smith-Njigba drew 14 targets.
San Francisco is a hard team to run on. The 49ers allow 99.8 rushing yards per game and are one of six teams that have not given up a run of 20 yards or more. Seattle’s backfield is also short-handed, with Zach Charbonnet out and George Holani questionable on the injury report. All of that points the ball back toward No. 11.
A catch of more than 25 yards for a fifth straight game
He has one in all four games, including touchdowns of 82 and 45 yards. This is the hardest of the three to deliver. The 49ers have allowed six completions of 20 yards or more, tied for the second fewest in the league, and the lowest completion percentage on throws of 10 or more air yards at 33.3 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.
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Darnold spoke this week about big plays against that defense. “Explosives will come. I don’t think you’re ever hunting explosives, they come naturally within the game plan,” he said. Smith-Njigba has been the reason they keep coming. According to PFF, his 92.3 receiving grade through Week 4 is the highest on Seattle’s offense.
At least five catches and 75 yards for a fifth straight game
Smith-Njigba is one of two players in the league to reach both marks in every game, according to The Associated Press. His lowest output so far is last week’s five catches for 76 yards.
It is not known whether the 49ers will assign one cornerback to follow him. According to PFF, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir has been targeted 24 times and allowed 16 catches through Week 4, and Upton Stout has allowed 18 on 22 targets. Stout is questionable with a shoulder injury, and safety Marques Sigle is out.
The touchdown is the less certain piece. Smith-Njigba scored six of Seattle’s first nine touchdowns and none of the four against the Chargers, and San Francisco allows 16 points per game, the third fewest in the NFL. The reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year, who edged CeeDee Lamb in one ESPN analyst’s quarter-season awards, had a rest day Wednesday and practiced in full Thursday and Friday.
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 8:09 AM.