Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba worth a top ten pick for the Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears are going to be linked to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Should the Chicago Bears draft him in the top ten, and who is his best NFL comparison?

Chicago Bears Draft Profile: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

As a true freshman, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was fourth in a receiver room that featured Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, and Julia. Fleming. As a sophomore, he passed up Fleming, and Williams transferred, and he broke out.

We all know this season, he put 1,595 yards and nine touchdowns. He capped things off with the famous Rose Bowl against Utah where he had 336 yards and three touchdowns.

We all wanted to see what he was going to do next, but he only put up 39 yards on four catches as he battled injuries all season. Overall, he had 507 routes run, and 439 came in the slot.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba proved that he was healthy at the NFL combine.

He is not an overly big wide out, but the agility is elite, and that is what shows up in his game.

How Jaxon Smith-Njigba translates to the NFL

Jaxon Smith-Njigba played in the slot at Ohio State, and there is no reason to think that would change in the NFL. This is where he is best. He is great at finding space, getting open, and then creating after the catch. As shown with the agility he is much more of a wiggly receiver than he is a burner, but he is also a smart wideout. He knows where to be, and he plays with high technical ability.

His overall upside may be capped by the reality that you can see him get caught from behind on tape a bit too often. Beyond that, he was never targeted deep down the field toward the sidelines. He was not playing outside, and unless he was running out breaking routes from the slot featuring double moves, the short, and middle of the field were where he was limited to attacking.

NFL Comparison for Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The best NFL comparison for Jaxon Smith-Njigba is Amon-Ra St. Brown. They have similar physical attributes.

JSN ran faster, but there is probably a reason he waited until the confines of his home field to run and did not wan to run under the laser of the combine. Still, he showed to be more agile than ASB. Still, they will both be used in the same way.

They can be target hogs underneath, but you see ASB get caught from behind at times, and that will happen. Still, they move the chains and are tough with the ball in their hands. It is not an elite wide receiver, but it is as reliable as they come, and a needed piece for any offense.

Should Chicago Bears draft Jaxon Smith-Njigba?

If the Chicago Bears trade down it could be on the table, but in the top ten that may be rich. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a great wide recever, and because he played with Justin Fields in 2020, so many will compare him to Ja'Marr Chase. Beyond that, Chase blew up as a sophomore, went top five, and had a great career, what is the difference for JSN?

Well, Ja'Marr Chase had 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns, so 11 more touchdowns and about 200 more yards. He did that on 11 fewer catches, so, you could say that Chase would have had a lot more yards, but he kept running into the end zone to prevent that from happening.

Ja'Marr Chase was an all-time receiver who worked in all areas of the field. He averaged 8.1 yards after the catch on an average depth of target of 14.3. Smith-Njigba had 8.3 yards after the catch per catch with an ADOT of 9.3. So, Chase was catching balls five yards further down the field and still getting similar YAC. He was an all-levels player.

JSN is good, but he is a slot and possession wideout who is not going to be Ja'Marr Chase. He is a first-round player, but there are going to be so many good options in the top ten, and JSN may be right outside that zone.

There are three tackles who should be in the top ten, so it is hard to say that JSN should crack the top ten.