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Jaxon Smith-Njigba held in high regard at NFL Combine by former teammate, opponent

Keith Farner

By Keith Farner

Published:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was on the mind of Ronnie Hickman Jr. and Brandon Joseph on Thursday at the NFL Combine.

The former Ohio State wide receiver was described by Hickman, a former Ohio State safety this way:

“That guy is a freak of nature. I think everyone can attest to that. You know who better trust than the guys going against him or the guys who see him every day in practice.”

Smith-Njigba’s season was disrupted at Northwestern on a hit by Joseph, a Northwestern safety. Joseph shared how they’ve discussed the hit recently.

“He was still in bounds and I was just trying to finish the play,” Joseph said, and added that the OSU receiver talked earlier this week. “It was all good.”

Multiple mock drafts have Smith-Njigba going as high as No. 14 overall to the New England Patriots, and he’s been compared to Jarvis Landry. As part of his NFL.com draft profile, he was described this way:

“It is impossible to ignore his monster finish to the 2021 season, and he has starting slot potential, but the speed concerns coupled with an injury-plagued 2022 season threaten to negatively impact his draft stock.”

Keith Farner

Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.