Seattle Seahawks superstar wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba presents a major threat to the Chicago Bears defense heading into the highly-anticipated Week 8 matchup, with his production across multiple coverage schemes and alignments offering Seattle several ways to attack Chicago.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats (via NFL.com’s Anthony Holzman-Escareno), Smith-Njigba leads the NFL in receiving yards in several different areas, including against zone coverage with 702, as well as when aligned wide (733), on deep targets (303), when wide open (246), against press coverage (354), against 2-high (495), and as an iso receiver (214).
The Seahawks have a clear lane to exploit Chicago whenever they opt to employ zone coverage, where Smith-Njigba has dominated
throughout the season. His excellence when both safeties drop back shows just how much opposing defenses have not had a definitive answer for him as a deep threat. against two-high safety looks, showing his ability to generate offense even when defenses prioritize protecting against deep passes. The Bears will need to balance limiting his production with containing Seattle's other offensive weapons.
Smith-Njigba's deep-target production may end up being particularly problematic for Chicago. His potential for explosive plays may prove to be the biggest factor in the game for Seattle, which may likely force the Bears to dedicate additional coverage resources to try and limit his impact down the field. That attention may also create opportunities for Seattle’s other playmakers to get free and produce meaningfully.
Given those numbers, Seattle has little statistical incentive to significantly alter how it deploys its top receiver against Chicago.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba presents serious threat to Bears defense
