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By Andrew Gould
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Calvin Johnson wouldn't be surprised if Jaxon Smith-Njigba breaks his longstanding NFL single-season receiving record.
Some players have come close in recent years, but Johnson still holds the benchmark with 1,964 yards in 2012. The Detroit Lions legend could cede the milestone to Smith-Njigba, who continued his standout season by tallying 150 receiving yards and a touchdown in Sunday night's Seattle Seahawks win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
With 867 yards in seven games, Smith-Njigba is on pace to pass Johnson's record and become the NFL's first 2,000-yard receiver. Megatron told FanDuel TV host Kay Adams that he expected someone to surpass him after the NFL expanded the regular season from 16 to 17 games, and he can see JSN doing it this season.
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'Yeah, he can," Johnson said of Smith-Njigba breaking the record. "Honestly, I don't know how many years the record's been standing now. With the extra game, I thought it would have been broken by now."
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Johnson noted that it's contingent on Smith-Njigba and Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold staying healthy. One can even question if the star receiver could make history without his starting quarterback, as he notched 155 yards and three touchdowns when playing alongside Drew Lock in a Week 2 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
"Is he the one? He could be," Johnson said of JSN. "The dude runs great routes. He can make the play down the field. He can run after the catch, so he definitely has a chance to do that. The only thing that will stop it is health. That's the only thing I think for them, this crew ... As long as Darnold stays healthy, he stays healthy, they have a great chance."
Smith-Njigba finished eighth on the single-season leaderboard when registering 1,793 receiving yards in 2025. The Offensive Player of the Year is delivering a worthy encore, exceeding 100 yards in six of seven games to start the 2026 campaign.
He'll need 1,097 yards in the final 10 games to break Johnson's record. Smith-Njigba can inch closer to history when the Seahawks host the Chicago Bears next Monday night.
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