Jaxon Smith-Njigba has turned into one of the NFL’s best wide receivers, and one simple recommendation from the Seattle Seahawks may have helped him get there.
Smith-Njigba was a supremely talented wideout prospect coming out of Ohio State in 2023. While his skills on the field were undeniable when the Seahawks made him the first wideout off the board in the draft, there were questions about his ability to stay on the field.
In his final year with the Buckeyes, JSN played in only three games due to a nagging hamstring injury. Seattle already had a plan in place to help him overcome his injury woes at the next level.
Seahawks director of equipment Erik Kennedy appeared on GM John Schneider’s show this week and shared an interesting tidbit about the team’s early encounters with Smith-Njigba. According to Kennedy, the Seahawks had JSN undergo a foot scan, which revealed that he had been wearing shoes several sizes too big as an amateur.
“You’re always trying to find little edges that can help players,” Kennedy said. “Let’s just say, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, you were talking him about in college, he was wearing a size 12, had hamstring issues, and things like that. Gets here, wears a 10-and-a-half. … It’s helped him, right? He hasn’t missed time and done things like that. That helps build the trust for us with the players.”
Smith-Njigba has yet to miss a game over his three seasons in the NFL. With no lingering health issues holding him back, JSN rewarded Seattle with All-Pro production in 2025.
While some of that is partly injury luck, the Seahawks have clearly gone the extra mile to minimize any risk of injury for their players.
Schneider claimed the Seahawks were the first team in the NFL to do routine foot scans, thanks to Kennedy’s relationship with Nike.
Kennedy credited Schneider with empowering the team’s equipment staff to make key decisions for the benefit of the players. Per Kennedy, Seattle stands by the belief that all pieces of equipment — from shoes, to helmets to shoulder pads — should be custom-made based on the team’s body scans of its players.
With the Seahawks winning it all last season, don’t be surprised to hear other teams doing foot scans ahead of the 2026 campaign.
