Development in the NFL is rarely linear, and the 2025 season produced a string of sudden risers and fallers that make forecasting difficult. According to the article, teams and players can change dramatically from one season to the next, making it a challenge to declare with certainty which performances will persist into 2026.
The piece identified five players who suddenly broke out in 2025 and five whose play fell off a cliff, posing the question of whether those arcs represent trends or blips. Perhaps no example is clearer than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who moved from a productive young receiver in 2024 to the league leader in receiving yards in 2025.
According to the article, Smith-Njigba totaled 1,793 receiving yards in 2025, up from 1,130 the year before, and accounted for 44.1 percent of his team’s receiving yards. The article notes his yards per route run was 3.85 in 2025, the second-best mark of the past decade behind 2023 Tyreek Hill, and describes that metric as particularly sticky because top performers tend to repeat.
According to the article, Smith-Njigba also showed measurable gains in play speed and route control. He did not run at the 2023 NFL combine but posted a 4.52 at his pro day, and NFL Next Gen Stats measured his average miles per hour on routes at 13.5, 13.7 and 14.2 over his first three seasons. The article cites Fox commentator Tom Brady praising Smith-Njigba’s consistent body positioning through routes, a trait that helps conceal his acceleration and contributes to his versatility across the field.
The article notes potential headwinds as well: defenses will likely devote more attention to him, and there has been an offensive coaching change in Seattle, with Klint Kubiak leaving to become the Las Vegas Raiders head coach this offseason. Ultimately, the piece emphasizes that only time will tell which recent breakouts become sustained and which sudden declines reverse, leaving predictions for 2026 open to revision.
