Seahawks, Rams in NFC title game means matchup of NFL's top receivers

RENTON, Wash. — Cooper Kupp is one of only three receivers to win the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award in the last three decades, doing so in 2021 when he was with the Los Angeles Rams.

Since then, he’s been a teammate of two others who could be the next to do it — Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams and Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seahawks.

Smith-Njigba and Nacua face off Sunday at Lumen Field with a far bigger prize than an individual award on the line — the right to play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.

But a win Sunday might allow each player to make a claim to the title of best receiver in the NFL in 2025.

Supporters of each can make a solid case for their man — each of whom turned in one of the best receiving seasons in NFL history.

Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards this season with 1,793 yards, which ranked eighth all-time, to Nacau’s 1,715, which ranked 14th.

But Nacua, who missed one game due to injury, had more catches than Smith-Njigba — 129 to 119, tied for seventh and tied for 23rd in NFL history, respectively. Nacua also finished with a higher yards per game at 107.2 to Smith-Njigba’s 105.5, each far distancing the third player on that list, Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals at 88.3.

Thursday, they were named as two of five finalists for the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year honor, the only receivers among that group. They can join Kupp (2021), Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (2022) and Michael Thomas of New Orleans (2019) as the only receivers to win the award since Jerry Rice in 1993. (Smith-Njigba earlier this week won a similar award from the Pro Football Writers of America, but the award the NFL considers official will be awarded on Feb. 5).

Aside from raw stats, how do the two compare?

Kupp, who played with Nacua during his first two seasons in the NFL in 2023 and 2024 before signing with the Seahawks and playing with Smith-Njigba this season, was asked that question Thursday and said it’s a tough one to answer.

“Everyone does it in their own way and they’ve both found ways to be successful and productive with their own path, with their own tools, their own talents and gifts, Kupp said. “So it’s hard to compare."

Indeed, while their raw stats were almost a mirror-image this season, there are some unquestioned differences stylistically.

The most obvious may be size — Nacua stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 212 pounds while Smith-Njigba is 6-foot and 197.

That impacts how each is used.

Nacua lined up outside on 542 snaps this year compared to 279 in the slot, via Pro Football Focus, and worked more inside and over the middle. That led to an average depth of target of 9.43 yards.

Smith-Njigba played largely in the slot his first two seasons when the Seahawks had Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, lining up in the slot on 733 snaps in 2024 compared to 206 outside.

This year, with Lockett and Metcalf gone, Smith-Njigba lined up mostly outside — 698 snaps compared to 153 in the slot.

That coincided with the arrival of Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator, who better made use of Smith-Njigba’s ability to find openings downfield and led to an average depth of target of 11.2 this season compared to 8.7 in 2024.

According to Next Gen Stats, Smith-Njigba totaled 1,378 yards from a wide alignment, the most by any player since Atlanta’s Julio Jones in 2018, and he had 1,258 yards on throws that traveled 10 or more air yards.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald offered this scouting report this week on Nacua: “You name it (he has it). Ball skills are tremendous, so a lot of those contested catches he's coming down with. Body control on the sideline. Being able to make plays. He can kind of do everything so you can't count for him to do just one thing. He's great in the run game. He is a great runner after (the) catch. He kind of gets hidden yardages, which is a testament to his toughness. So he does a lot of great things.''

Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula offered this assessment earlier this season of the challenge of defending Smith-Njigba: “He requires and deserves all that attention that he should get, but they have other guys that can hurt you. You don't want to put all your resources into stopping one guy and now another guy goes off for 200 yards. It's just that fine line, that balance. We know he is their marquee player. We know he is going to have a ton of touches and a ton of targets and it's about how many resources do you want to allocate to him without letting other guys go off.”

Neither team really had an answer for the other this season.

Smith-Njigba had nine receptions for 105 yards in the first game against the Rams and eight for 96 and a touchdown in the rematch, while Nacua had seven for 75 in the first game and 12 for 225 and two touchdowns in the rematch, the second-most yards ever against the Seahawks.

Nacua’s output keyed a Rams offense that put up 581 yards, the most the Seahawks have ever allowed, though they still memorably won 38-37 in overtime.

Despite the win, that performance still sticks in the craw of the defense.

“We played like (expletive),’’ safety Julian Love said Thursday.

As for Nacua, Love said: “He has speed, and he's strong. He's a strong receiver. He's good after the catch. And he's efficient in his route running. You need to know where he's at all the time."

A difference is the route — football pun intended — each took to get to Sunday.

Smith-Njigba was a first-round pick, taken 20th overall and the first receiver in the draft in 2023 after setting school records at Ohio State with 95 receptions for 1,606 yards in 2021.

Nacua had a more mercurial college career which began spending the 2019-20 seasons at the University of Washington, making just 16 catches for 319 yards before transferring to BYU.

Nacua played more there, with 91 receptions for 1,430 yards in two seasons. But injuries and a slow 40 time (4.57) helped drop him to the fifth round of the 2023 draft before the Rams selected him, 177th overall.

Each earns similar plaudits for their selflessness despite playing a position sometimes regarded as among the most individual in the sport.

Nacua, for instance, annually grades out as one of the better blockers in the NFL from PFF.

Macdonald has raved about how Smith-Njigba’s demeanor never changes whether he has 10 catches or two.

“I just think that's who he is, which is probably easy for him to be that way because that's just the type of guy he is, the type of player," Macdonald said. “It’s kind of a nonissue for us."

Not that either is reluctant to display some bravado when they feel it's appropriate.

“I really do feel confident that I can catch any ball that comes my way," Nacua said recently.

Smith-Njigba feels similarly.

“I can do anything you ask, honestly, Smith-Njigba said earlier this season when asked to describe himself as a player. “I'm going to get open. He's (Smith-Njigba) a receiver that's going to get open, catch the ball and do his job, whatever his job is.”