Who Should I Start? Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Bryce Young

Monday, January 8, 5:25 AM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught three of his five targets for 14 yards in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals. The receptions were tied with tight ends Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson for the team lead but made for a quiet end to a modest debut season for the Ohio State product. Selected 20th overall in the 2023 draft, there were hopes that Smith-Njigba would replicate the first-year successes of his former college teammates Garrett Wilson and Christian Olave. As it was, Smith-Njigba proved to be firmly entrenched as the third receiver on Seattle's depth chart and was probably lucky to see the amount of work that he did. His production was also hindered by the routes designed for him, as his average depth of target of 5.8 yards was among the lowest in the league. His rookie year will conclude with 63 receptions for 628 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games.

Friday, April 19, 2:29 PM

The Carolina Panthers want to make the 2024 draft about a larger point, rather than anything as granular as finding weapons for quarterback Bryce Young after he struggled mightily in his rookie season in 2023. "I think it's not about surrounding Bryce with great players; it's about building a great team, and then Bryce can just do his part of it," new head coach Dave Canales said. Even if the Panthers aren't specifically just looking to add weapons for Young, they'll surely need to bolster what was a terrible offensive line and running game. Carolina already traded for receiver Diontae Johnson this offseason and spent some money to upgrade the O-line. "It's not about getting playmakers for Bryce, it's about getting playmakers for our team," general manager Dan Morgan said.