How Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp could co-exist in the Seahawks' new offense

New York Times

2 days ago

RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald plans to play his starters against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night, likely marking the first time we'll see Seattle's new-look receiver duo of Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Seattle signed Kupp to a three-year free-agent deal worth $45 million as part of an offensive overhaul that began with trading DK Metcalf and releasing Tyler Lockett. The team also signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a one-year, $4 million contract because of his deep-ball ability, but in an offense that considers a fullback one of its starters, the 32-year-old Kupp will be the main guy tasked with complementing Smith-Njigba.
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Smith-Njigba led NFL wide receivers in catches (79) and yards (956) when operating out of the slot last season (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise). He tied several other players for second with five receiving touchdowns from the slot, behind Jaguars rookie Brian Thomas Jr. (seven). One of those others was Kupp, who was released by the Los Angeles Rams in the offseason. The Rams no longer saw Kupp as a viable No. 2 receiver. Seattle is essentially betting on Los Angeles being wrong.
Kupp is at his best when operating from the slot. But so is Smith-Njigba. The goal for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and his staff is to maximize the talents of both players. The exhibition against Kansas City will offer the first glimpse at how they plan to do that in a game setting.
'It's going to be interesting because Cooper just has every trick of the trade,' safety Julian Love said early in training camp. 'Obviously, he's been a high-level player in this league, and Jax is on his way up as well. It's going to be fun to watch them. Going against those guys, they both don't talk much on the field, and, as you know, the defense talks a lot. But they're just all about action, which we love and appreciate.'
These four weeks of training camp practices have confirmed what Kupp's film from last season revealed: He's still got plenty left in the tank. Kupp is not a speedster down the field. That's why the Seahawks signed Valdes-Scantling and used a fifth-round pick on Tory Horton, a guy who ran a 4.41 at the NFL Scouting Combine coming off surgery to repair his LCL and hamstring.
What Kupp can do, though, is get open against Devon Witherspoon. This stands out because Witherspoon, a two-time Pro Bowler, is arguably the best coverage defender in a Seattle secondary that might be one of the bests in the league this season. Though a fully focused Riq Woolen might challenge Witherspoon for the coverage crown, the latter is undoubtedly Seattle's best defender in the slot. And Kupp puts a ton of pressure on slot defenders.
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'His understanding of the game, understanding of leverage, how to move people, where he needs to move people, what you're playing, what your leverage is — he understands the answers to the test before you're doing the test,' defensive coordinator Aden Durde said. 'You see that. I see that in the play, I see it in the film. It's great for these guys to compete against him.'
.@seahawks WR Cooper Kupp is set to face his former team twice in 2025. Find out when 🔜
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Coaches and teammates seem to be most impressed with the mental side of Kupp's game. Second-string quarterback Drew Lock said Kupp is constantly studying throughout the week and regularly meets with the quarterbacks. He's 'overly focused on the details,' Lock said, which explains his knack for having the answers to the very difficult tests that Macdonald's gives them.
'Just the way he operates on the field and off the field, really impressive,' Lock said. 'Knows how to set up routes. Knows how to get open within the timing of the play. He knows what's going on, like in a very cut-and-dry way. He knows why we're calling plays. He knows when he needs to get open — and he can get open.'
Kupp gets open with elite quickness out of his breaks. This stands out when he's going against Witherspoon, whose twitchiness is next level. Witherspoon also has a high football IQ and correctly calls out plays before they develop, so it takes more than quickness to get a step on him when running a slant or breaking outside. Kupp has shown the mental and physical capacity to win his fair share of battles against one of the best.
'Every time I watch (Kupp) at practice, I'm just like, 'Damn, I have to put that in my bag,'' Horton said. 'He's got some crazy top-of-the-route moves, and I'm always asking him how he's reading leverage and things like that. I'm just a sponge; I'm going to ask a lot of questions. (I admire) just his decisiveness on the field and how smart and where he is on the field.'
This bodes well for Seattle's plan to have a dynamic offense that often relies on two-receiver personnel groupings. But to really make it work, Smith-Njigba has to dominate everywhere on the field. The Seahawks will often line up in condensed formations to create mismatches and capitalize on play-action concepts. That's something general manager John Schneider mentioned in March when describing how their two slot receivers would co-exist, and it's held true in camp.
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Still, it was worth wondering whether Smith-Njigba, a Pro Bowler as an injury replacement last year, could be a matchup problem from other alignments. He has certainly looked like a problem in practice.
'From my last year to now, (I see) the growth in being precise and being exact with depth, knowing how to get off press,' said Lock, who played with Smith-Njigba in 2023. 'He's just evolving into a true, true elite receiver. You saw those signs super early. He was making plays left and right as a rookie. … That jump from (Year) 1 to 3, (he's) just a guy you can count on down in, down out.'
Smith-Njigba isn't known for his speed, but he's been able to win as an outside receiver in practice with shiftiness at the line of scrimmage. Once he gets a step on the defender, he's hard to stick with down the field, unless Woolen is the man in coverage.
One of Smith-Njigba's best plays of camp was a touchdown reception from Sam Darnold on fourth-and-goal against the starting defense. Smith-Njigba was lined up against Josh Jobe — CB3 when the Seahawks are in nickel — released outside, then sold the fade route before cutting back toward the front pylon to catch a dart with the defender all over him. He's had wins like that against Woolen in one-on-one drills as well.
More JSN outside the numbers. This one on 4th and goal.
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'I definitely wouldn't categorize him as just a slot receiver; he's one of the best receivers in the league,' Love said. 'He has every skill set you need to be a top-end receiver in this league. Speed, route running, catch radius, yards after catch, he has everything checked off.'
The only box Seattle's starting offense hasn't checked off with consistency is the deep ball (though Smith-Njiga did get one on Jobe last week). In response to a question about how Valdes-Scantling has performed in camp, Kubiak mentioned that Macdonald's unit has done a great job keeping a lid on the defense and not allowing many deep explosive plays.
That makes Friday night a potentially interesting debut for Seattle's top two wideouts. Kupp and Smith-Njigba have no issue winning underneath, but can they stretch the field? Macdonald said first-stringers would start against Kansas City, with a few exceptions. Assuming Kupp and Smith-Njigba are active, one thing to watch is whether they can take the top off the Chiefs' defense.
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There's no need to press the panic button if they don't, but the film of Kupp and Smith-Njigba will be notable regardless. Seattle's passing game is built around what Darnold does best, and Kupp and Smith-Njigba will likely be the guys catching most of his touchdowns this season. The Seahawks are putting a lot on their shoulders, banking on their ability to co-exist and be key cogs in an elite offense.
'Both of them know how to get open in all the spots,' Lock said. 'Coop can get open at Z on the outside of a three-by-one (formation). And you can put Jax at the X on the other side. And vice versa. We both know they can play in the slot at F. Being able to work press as a single, work press as an F, work press as a Z, understand the concepts, knowing when to get open, where am I in the progression — that allows us to be free with playing those guys anywhere and everywhere.'
(Photo of Cooper Kupp, left, and Sam Darnold: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
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