High-end NFL Player Comp(s):
Amon-Ra St. Brown Low-end NFL Player Comp(s):
Adam Thielen
Best Scheme Fit: Day 1 primary
slot option who may struggle early on the perimeter initially
but is crafty enough to become a productive "Z" eventually.
Best Team Fit(s): Ravens, Titans, Packers, Vikings,
Falcons
Non-bolded times - Good examples of attribute Bolded times - Average/poor examples of attribute
* - How well does his skill set carry over
to the fantasy game? For receivers, a player needs to be a realistic
threat for 70 catches and 1,000 receiving yards at some point
early in their career to be a candidate for a perfect grade. Positional
scarcity at the pro level is also a part of the equation.
Positives
Some receivers win with sheer athleticism and then there are players
like Smith-Njigba, who will not blow anyone away with his speed
but will consistently beat his man as much with savvy route-running
and sound technique. Just about every part of his game seems to
reflect a player who pays attention in the classroom. While he benefited
from opponents rarely putting their hands on him at the line of
scrimmage thanks in part to heavy slot usage, the quickness and
suddenness of his release would make it difficult for them to affect
him much in the first two to three steps of his route anyway. Along
with his ability to sell his route through body language, it makes
it very easy for him to create separation consistently. Unsurprisingly,
the former five-star recruit seems to have a natural feel for finding
open space against zone coverage and draws rave reviews for his
competitive nature, which really shines through with how often he
works back to his quarterback when the latter is in trouble. The
Big Ten's single-season record-holder in receiving yards may do
his best work with the ball in his hands. Per Pro Football Focus,
Smith-Njigba churned out 790 yards after the catch in 2021, including
100-plus in three of his last five games and 180 in the Buckeyes'
epic Rose Bowl victory over Utah (part of his Rose Bowl-record 347
yards receiving).
Negatives
Smith-Njigba's biggest knock might be his lack of raw speed, but
there are other small concerns. He missed most of the 2022 season
with a hamstring injury, leaving him with only about half of a season's
worth of brilliance on his college resume - much of which came against
suspect secondaries. He ran 83 percent of his routes from the slot
in his career (88.6 in 2021), which gave him plenty of free releases
off the line of scrimmage. Although it would not be surprising to
see him hold up as a full-time perimeter receiver down the road,
it is a bit disconcerting that he has not already proven that he
can. As much as he does after the catch and as solid as his quickness
testing (20-yard shuttle, three-cone) numbers are - suggesting he
is reasonably strong in his lower body - Smith-Njigba does not possess
much upper-body strength. This lent itself to his inability/unwillingness
to be a strong blocker consistently and could be a problem if he
is asked to work outside more often in the NFL against press coverage.
It may have also played a role in why he did not get many contested-catch
situations (10 such targets out of his 112 total targets in 2021).
Bottom Line
After watching the success that former Ohio State teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave had as rookies last year - and considering
Smith-Njigba out-produced both of them in their lone season sharing
the spotlight - it would seem reasonable that the Rockwall (Texas)
High School product would be the best of the bunch. Instead, we
have more questions than answers thanks to his injury-plagued
2022 campaign. Is he merely a dynamic slot receiver? Was the second
half of his 2021 breakout season a combination of Wilson and Olave
missing games and having a high first-round pick at quarterback
(C.J. Stroud) leaning heavily on a technically sound receiver
against a handful of average or shorthanded pass defenses? It
is a possibility.
The good thing for Smith-Njigba is that high-end route-running
skills and being a master of the finer details of the wide receiver
position tend to carry over very well to the pro game. Ohio State
did not ask him to stretch the field very often and it seems unlikely
his next team will either, but wideouts who excel in the short
and intermediate parts of the field and can pick up yards after
the catch will always be in demand. Smith-Njigba's athletic profile
does not scream "future alpha receiver," but it does
lend itself to that of a poor man's Tyler Lockett - a player that
will likely fly under the radar but be ultra-consistent.
Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and been featured
in USA TODAY's Fantasy Football Preview magazine since 2010. He
is also a high-stakes player who often appears as a guest analyst
on a number of national sports radio shows, such as Sirius XM’s
“Fantasy Drive." Doug is also a member of the Fantasy
Sports Writers Association.
