SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks will return to action on Sunday, riding a three-game winning streak.
The last time we saw the team on the field the Seahawks dominated the punchless New York Giants 24-3 on Monday Night Football.
Fresh off the team's bye, here are four things we have learned about the Seahawks after the first month of the 2023 NFL season.
JSN is not producing ... yet
The NFL's rookie wide receiver class has been outstanding in 2023.
Rams rookie Puka Nacua is second in the NFL in receiving yards. Ravens rookie Zay Flowers has already cemented himself as the team's No. 1 receiver. Vikings rookie Jordan Addison has flashed big-play ability alongside Justin Jefferson. Texans rookie Tank Dell has earned a viable role at the beginning of the season.
Then there's Seahawks rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has...struggled. Through four games, the Seahawks rookie has just 12 catches and 62 yards. He has fewer receiving yards than second-string tight end Colby Parkinson.
Through that lens, it's certainly been a disappointing start to a career for the receiver drafted highest in the 2023 NFL Draft. Through another lens, however, there is something possible to glean: Smith-Njigba is earning targets at nearly the same rate as DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
And zooming in further, Smith-Njigba has earned more targets per route run (20%) than Metcalf (18%) this season, according to Fantasy Life's Utilization Report. Targets per route run is a metric that shows how often receivers earn targets on the routes they run. It's designed to see which receivers are most productive when they're on the field.
That's the good, at least.
Here's the bad.
The real problem in Smith-Njigba's start to his career is two-fold: The Seahawks are only playing him in three wide-receiver formations and they are playing with that formation at one of the lowest rates in the league. That means Smith-Njigba isn't on the field as often as his other rookie counterparts.
The other issue affecting Smith-Njigba is how the Seahawks deploy its rookie. For the first four games of the season, the Seahawks have used Smith-Njigba as a glorified tight end, gobbling up the short passes close to the line of scrimmage.
Smith-Njigba's average depth of target, which measures the average distance from the line of scrimmage when the pass catcher is on target, is among the lowest on the team and in the league.
On average, the Ohio State receiver is targeted just 3.3 yards from the line of scrimmage, far below all of his teammates and only ahead of third-string tight end Will Dissly.
Metcalf's average depth of target, by contrast, is a healthy 14.1 yards, while Lockett's is not far behind at 12.4.
In turn, the Seahawks have neutered Smith-Njigba's big play by throwing him short, quick passes.
There are several questions to consider with Smith-Njigba's curious usage.
- Are the Seahawks not trusting the rookie to win down the field?
- Is Smith-Njigba himself not separating down the field?
- Are the Seahawks easing the rookie into the game plan before opening the playbook in the second half of the season? Or is this just going to be his role?
- How much is Smith-Njigba's preseason wrist injury affecting the game plan?
There is one certainty here. The Seahawks did not spend a first-round pick to just use Smith-Njigba as a safety valve for Geno Smith.
Expect Smith-Njigba's role to steadily grow throughout the season, as he learns the league more and distances himself from a wrist injury that has certainly sapped him of some of his productivity.
Walker and Charbonnet can co-exist in the same backfield
One of the most interesting subplots on the 2023 Seahawks would be finding out how the team would divvy up its backfield between Kenneth Walker, 2022 second-round pick, and Zach Charbonnet, 2023 second-round pick.
It's rare when an NFL team drafts two running backs with early picks in consecutive drafts, but the Seahawks defied tradition to construct its running back room.
The early returns are that both backs can be productive on the same team, which is encouraging. Walker has dominated total production (356 total yards) and has turned his goalline opportunities into touchdowns, while Charbonnet has averaged an impressive 5 yards per carry.
But for those curious, here's how the Seahawks have used its running backs through four games.
Walker
- 60% snaps
- 65% rushing attempts
- 39% routes
- 7% targets
- 80% inside the 5-yard-line attempts
Charbonnet
- 31% snaps
- 21% rushing attempts
- 27% routes
- 5% targets
- 20% inside the 5-yard-line attempts
Charbonnet is still clearly the backup, as opposed to a 1A) or 1B) situation, but he's earned more work as he's popped off bruising runs and been capable in the passing game. As long as both are producing in their roles, there's plenty of room in Seattle for both young backs to be productive.
Witherspoon's potential
Many pundits and fans were confused when the Seahawks passed on defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the fifth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Instead of securing a talented player at a position of need - the Seahawks struggled to defend the run in 2022, after all - Seattle fortified a strength by taking cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
While Carter is already the early favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, with 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, 12 tackles and game-breaking plays all over social media, the Seahawks may have quite the player themselves.
After all, Witherspoon is coming off one of the best games you'll ever see from a cornerback. (This is not hyperbole.)
The Illinois product was primarily matched up against New York Giants slot receivers in the Seahawks' last game, giving him a quicker path to the quarterback, if necessary. The Seahawks' game plan was aggressive in its usage of Witherspoon, giving him the chance to dart inside to pressure the quarterback and wreak havoc on the offensive line.
Witherspoon finished with seven tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, one pass deflection and three quarterback hits -- basically, every stat you could possibly compile as a cornerback.
The rookie also had a back-breaking 97-yard pick-six in the third quarter that sapped the Giants of any momentum. According to Next Gen Stats, Witherspoon traveled 117.3 yards and reached a top speed of 20.25 miles per hour on his long and winding route to the end zone. The interception return boosted Seattle's win probability by almost 18%.
Witherspoon looks like the real deal.
No Carter, no problem?
The reasoning behind taking Carter with the fifth pick was based on four months of evidence in 2022 that the Seahawks' defense was being exposed in the trenches.
Seattle allowed 150.2 rushing yards per game last season, the 30th-worst mark in the NFL. Only the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans were worse at rush defense.
In 2023, the Seahawks defense is allowing just 87.5 rushing yards per game, the sixth-best mark in the NFL. That's good, right?
...right?
The only problem with this positive development is that Seattle has regressed as a passing defense at the same time. Despite adding another talented cornerback on the roster, the Seahawks are allowing 280 passing yards per game - good for 30th in the league.
If this ends up being the tradeoff in 2023 - being better at defending the run but struggling against the pass - it would be disastrous for the Seahawks. It's a passing league, after all, and the teams that struggle to contain opposing quarterbacks don't have any hope of being real contenders.
Let's see if these trends stick throughout the season.