Analysis: Ahead of Seahawks training camp, defining Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s role and other unanswered questions

Monday was the day for Seattle’s veterans to report to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center as the Seahawks prepare for what should be a revealing training camp under first-year coach Mike Macdonald.

Between a new head coach and three coordinators who have never held their current positions at the NFL level, there are many unknowns regarding the team’s philosophy, scheme and depth chart. Before Seattle takes the field Wednesday afternoon, let’s dive into some questions that will need to be answered as the regular season approaches (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise).

Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba due for a bigger role?

Selected 20th last spring, Smith-Njigba is the highest-drafted receiver of the John Schneider era, and he was the first wideout off the board in the 2023 draft. Considering he fractured his wrist in the preseason, Smith-Njigba had a decent rookie season. He caught 63 passes for 628 yards and four touchdowns, including game-winners against the Browns and Eagles. Because of his draft status, it is expected that he’ll be even more productive in Year 2.

Njigba ranked seventh among first-year players in target percentage. Puka Nacua and Zay Flowers were the top target-getters on their teams, and guys like Sam LaPorta, Josh Downs and Rashee Rice were the No. 2 options on their squads. Jordan Addison began the season as a third option but was elevated for nearly two months because of injuries to Justin Jefferson. As far as being a third option goes, Smith-Njigba was about as productive as one could reasonably expect in his first year.

For Smith-Njigba to take a leap in his sophomore season, he’ll probably have to supplant Tyler Lockett as the 1B to DK Metcalf’s 1A, because even on the best offenses, there are only so many targets to go around. The primary argument for rearranging the pecking order would be Smith-Njigba’s ability to generate yards after the catch. His YAC average of 5.8 yards ranked 11th among receivers, tied with Miami’s Jaylen Waddle. If teams commit to keeping a lid on the defense to prevent Metcalf and Lockett from winning over the top, there’s value in devoting more targets to an underneath option who can stress the defense in other ways.

Will cornerbacks rotate shadowing No. 1 receivers?

During a podcast with NFL Network in June, Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier floated the possibility of building game plans around a cornerback with the ability to lock down the opponent’s No. 1 receiver. He specifically mentioned Riq Woolen as an option for such a role while adding, “There are a lot of good corners who will allow this as well.”

“When you have a guy who can lock down that team’s No. 1 receiver and travel with him, it just gives you so many variables from a defensive play-calling standpoint,” Frazier said. “You almost feel like, ‘We’ve erased that player and now we’re making you play left-handed on offense, so you’ve got to go to your alternative on offense,’ and that usually works in our favor because we can protect that lesser corner who may not be as good as our shutdown corner, which makes our defense stronger.”

Woolen, a Pro Bowler as a rookie who had an underwhelming sophomore season, has the size, speed, length and ball skills to cover just about anyone when he’s on top of his game, so it makes sense that a veteran defensive coach like Frazier would see potential in him. Then there’s an argument for having Woolen follow Brandon Aiyuk of the 49ers, Drake London of the Falcons, DJ Moore of the Bears, Garrett Wilson of the Jets, Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Cardinals or Justin Jefferson of the Vikings.

Woolen’s 6-foot-4 frame isn’t conducive to following every No. 1 option, though. He has the speed to run with Miami’s Tyreek Hill in Week 3, but Hill’s quickness and pre-snap movement could neutralize Woolen’s advantage, which is his length. The same goes for potentially shadowing Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown in Week 4 and the Rams’ Cooper Kupp (or even Nacua). But that’s where Devon Witherspoon, a smaller defender with better lateral quickness, could be deployed as that week’s shutdown corner. Those two could theoretically rotate shadow duties depending on the matchup.

Shadowing a receiver can drastically alter the structure of defense, particularly on early downs, which is perhaps why Pete Carroll seldom had Richard Sherman follow No. 1 pass catchers, but it appears Frazier and Macdonald might not be as opposed to the idea.

What’s next for Dre’Mont Jones?

The three-year, $51 million free-agent contract Jones signed in March 2023 was the largest of the Schneider-Carroll era, but Jones didn’t have a season that matched the price tag. He had 4.5 sacks – his lowest total since his rookie year – and a pressure rate of 10.4 percent, slightly below the league average of 11 percent among defenders with at least 200 pass rush snaps. Jones initially played defensive tackle, then spent the second half of the season on the edge because of Uchenna Nwosu’s season-ending pec injury.

In May, Jones’ trainer posted videos of the 27-year-old working out of a two-point stance and wrote that Jones will be playing “some outside linebacker” this year, which explains why he worked with the edge group and the interior defensive linemen during the spring practices open to the media. During minicamp, Macdonald said Jones’ skill set “lends to trying to play a little matchup ball with him or setting another guy up.”

How exactly Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde make that come to life will be important. Jones is listed at 285 pounds, but if he’s going to moonlight as an outside linebacker, he might be much lighter when he weighs in this week. But even if he is, Jones’ strength and quickness are attributes the Seahawks can conceivably get more out of than they did last season. Perhaps with a full offseason to prepare, Jones will be more equipped to produce at a high level while playing inside and outside.

How much of a situational leap can Seattle make?

The Seahawks won’t be any better than they were last season without drastically improving their situational football numbers. They ranked 23rd in third-down conversion rate on offense and 30th on defense. Their red zone numbers were in the mid-20s on both sides of the ball. Early down execution between the 20-yard lines matters, too, but third down and red zone action is what often decides games.

The simple solution is to be better on both front lines. Generating more pressure in obvious throwing situations should help get the defense off the field more often – Seattle led the league in defensive plays last year – while better protection for Geno Smith would give him more time to execute whatever offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb schemes up in have-to-have-it situations. (Better run blocking on the goal line is also a must.)

It’s probably unrealistic for the Seahawks to become a top-10 team in all those categories on both sides of the ball, but if they can just improve to being average across the board, it might make a dramatic difference in their win-loss record.

What’s the plan for Kenny McIntosh?

Because Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are so versatile, third running back DeeJay Dallas was basically phased out of the offense and played a career-low 87 offensive snaps last season. A seventh-round pick in 2023, McIntosh didn’t play any offensive snaps as a rookie because of a knee injury suffered early in training camp that kept him out most of the year. Before that injury, McIntish looked shifty and explosive in practice, almost like a slightly less powerful version of Walker in the open field.

In theory, McIntosh would step into the third-down role that has been occupied by Dallas, and Travis Homer before him. But that role was taken last season by Charbonnet, who led all running backs in third-down snaps with 122, compared to just 52 for Dallas and 35 for Walker. If Grubb adopts that same sort of split, there’s not much room for a third back when everyone is healthy.

One way to get McIntosh on the field in that scenario would be special teams. He averaged 26.8 yards per kickoff return at Georgia, and the new kickoff format could allow for his playmaking to be utilized without taking many snaps from Walker or Charbonnet.