Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba the Best Receiver on Earth? Week 12 Fantasy Football Shocker Unveils Historic Rise!

Every so often, a player emerges who doesn’t just turn heads—they rewrite the entire playbook on what it means to be unstoppable on the field. Think back: the legends like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Calvin Johnson all carved their names in football lore, each reigning supreme in their era. More recently, the spotlight has flickered between stars like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and even Cooper Kupp’s unforgettable campaign. But right now, the crown’s sitting firmly on one man’s head—Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Simply put, the guy’s untouchable. Sunday’s gritty 30-24 clash with Tennessee was yet another masterclass—eight catches, 167 yards, two touchdowns—and a whopping 33.1 fantasy points to boot. What’s even more jaw-dropping? He hasn’t stumbled once this season, consistently racking up yards and finding the end zone, week in and week out. There’s a rhythm to his game, a poetry in his routes, that’s hard to look away from. Trust me, I’ve followed plenty greats, but JSN is charting a course for history like no other. Intrigued? Dive deeper and see why this season feels like the dawn of something truly extraordinary.LEARN MORE

It’s an imaginary post, but I like to pretend there’s always a clear designee as the Best Receiver on Earth. Jerry Rice was that guy for eons. Randy Moss spent time in that post. Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson, you know the names.

In recent years, it’s been guys like Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase. Cooper Kupp had that one magical season. Puka Nacua was making a strong case earlier this year.

But the jersey belongs to one guy now, one guy only. Jaxon Smith-Njigba simply cannot be covered.

JSN put on another clinic in Sunday’s 30-24 win over Tennessee. He caught 8-of-12 targets, gobbled up 167 yards, scored twice. It was his best game of the fantasy season, in fact, scoring 33.1 points.

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But what’s remarkable about Smith-Njigba this year is that he hasn’t had bad games. He’s scored in double digits for 11 straight games, and he’s posted 79 yards or more in every week. The touchdowns have started to pop, too, with seven spikes in his last nine starts.

Check out the highlight package for yourself — it’s poetry. JSN wins on a variety of routes; short, intermediate, deep. His balance is phenomenal. And he’s tied to a Seattle offense that maximizes his strengths — OC Klint Kubiak moves JSN proactively, and Sam Darnold has the arm talent to complete any throw.

I targeted Smith-Njigba liberally all summer but didn’t get as many shares as I wanted — sometimes your draft slot doesn’t fit the assignment. I still can’t root against him. You always want to appreciate historical greatness.

JSN needs an eraser with all the records he’s breaking. He’s up to 1,313 receiving yards for the year, most in Seattle history (DK Metcalf previously had 1,303 yards). It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, for crying out loud. If Smith-Njigba can keep up this 119.3 yards-per-game pace, he’d have 2,208 receiving yards by the end of the year. That would topple another record, a signature one; only Megatron (1,964 yards in 2012) and Kupp (1,947 yards in 2021, when he should have been the MVP) have finished over 1,900 receiving yards.

The remaining Seattle schedule is average against the pass, but with a player this great, you don’t worry about opponents much. For the record, here’s what Seattle has left for the fantasy season: the Vikings, Falcons, Colts, Rams and Panthers. JSN was third on the list of Yahoo MVPs before this week (the players most commonly found on the top 500 Yahoo public teams) and he could pass Christian McCaffrey this week. Jonathan Taylor remains first on that list, probably uncatchable.

JSN will be a first-round pick next year; it’s just a matter of how high. He doesn’t turn 24 until February. It’s scary to think of what might be ahead of him. All the dots connect. Stay healthy, kid.

Other Week 12 Booms

Jahmyr Gibbs: JSN wasn’t the only pinball wizard in the early window on Sunday, of course. The Giants and Lions combined for 61 points and 1,011 yards of offense in an overtime special, stolen by Detroit. Gibbs had the best fantasy game of the year (264 total yards, three touchdowns, 49.9 fantasy points), while Wan’Dale Robinson (9-156-1) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (9-149-1) kept throwing haymakers.

It felt like every key player scored well in the New York-Detroit game, with two notable exceptions. Game flow held David Montgomery to eight touches (37 total yards), and he couldn’t convert around the goal. And then there’s the curious case of Jameson Williams — after three straight games of increasing production, he went catchless on three targets — an invisible role despite Detroit trailing for almost the entire game. Another keen reminder of how wide receivers are the variance components of fantasy football.

Jameis Winston: The veteran won’t be playing much longer for the Giants — Jaxson Dart is obviously their present and their future. But Winston can still give us some carnival moments, such as the 366-yard treat at Ford Field. Winston also ran for 13 yards and caught a 33-yard touchdown on a gadget play. Why did the Giants even bother with Russell Wilson earlier this year, that Dallas game notwithstanding?

Bears rookies: Chicago once again did just enough to win, the theme of its season, in a 31-28 victory over Pittsburgh. This game constantly had you wondering when the teams might flip their respective usage charts. Kyle Monangai (12-48-1) was more effective than D’Andre Swift (8-15-0, lost fumble) in the Chicago backfield; meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s Kenneth Gainwell (10-92-0) outperformed Jaylen Warren (18-68-1), though most of Gainwell’s stats came on a 55-yard run.

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Chicago also had moments from its two rookie pass-catchers, Colston Loveland (4-49-1, and impossible to miss on-screen) and Luther Burden III (four touches, 61 yards). Ben Johnson continues to cook up a fun game plan every week, getting the most out of Caleb Williams (three touchdown passes, no picks, just one sack, 104.3 rating).

Hunter Henry: New England wasn’t especially sharp in a 26-20 win at Cincinnati, but you take the win and move along. This was a physically demanding game that took a toll — Patriots OL Will Campbell was carted off after a knee injury. Henry carried the downfield passing game (7-115-1), the latest tight end to feast on Cincinnati’s horrible seam coverage. Henry could have had an even bigger day, as a second score was overturned by a debatable penalty, and he had a different reception that stopped just short of the goal.

Everyone wants a go at Cincinnati down the fantasy stretch, especially the tight ends. Mark Andrews and the Ravens draw the Bengals twice — Thanksgiving night for Week 13, then a rematch in Week 15. Hopefully, Dalton Kincaid will be healthy when the Bengals head to Buffalo in Week 14. Miami and Arizona are also on the Cincinnati schedule; Trey McBride might go nuclear with that draw in Week 17, fantasy’s championship week.

Week 12 Busts

J.J. McCarthy, Packers passing game: The Minnesota at Green Bay match was the first game to end at least 20 minutes before any other match was completed. And good riddance — there wasn’t much fantasy juice. J.J. McCarthy (87 yards, 4.6 YPA, two picks, five sacks) continues to regress, taking down the passing game with him. And the Packers took the air out of the ball on the other side, letting Emanuel Wilson (28-107-2) do the driving while Jordan Love threw for just 139 yards. Green Bay’s fantasy setup is a brick right now; a good defense, a solid ground game, a rotation-filled receiver room. Maybe the Thanksgiving date at Detroit will perk things up a bit, but there will be other slogs on the remaining schedule.

Lamar Jackson: A lot of the early favorites were playing with their food in that early window, Baltimore notably in that group. The Ravens managed just 241 yards against the woeful Jets defense, but not much is needed when you play New York. The Jets had just 282 yards of their own, and this team loses the turnover battle every week (2-0 on Sunday; somehow, New York has just one takeaway all season, a shocking stat). Jackson hasn’t looked sharp in his return (no touchdowns Sunday, just 164 yards of offense), but the Thursday game against the Bengals is a perfect get-right spot.