Ex-Eagle Josh Jobe won Seahawks’ respect through battles with Jaxon Smith-Njigba: ‘This guy’s pretty dang good’
The fourth-year cornerback has found his calling within a top-notch Seahawks secondary.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Josh Jobe had locked down Jaxon Smith-Njigba in college before their matchups in Seahawks practices compelled Smith-Njigba to extol the virtues of the Eagles castoff to his coaches.
Smith-Njigba was a rookie wide receiver at Ohio State when he first faced the Alabama cornerback in the College Football Playoff championship game in January 2021.
“I was like, ‘Gosh this guy’s buff,” Smith-Njigba said. “Who’s this buff guy at corner lifting all these weights?”
Smith-Njigba lined up opposite Jobe for only about a dozen plays, but the ball never came his way. He had three future NFL first-round Buckeyes receivers also vying for targets, but the receiver struggled vs. Jobe’s press-man coverage as the Crimson Tide won, 52-24.
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Three years later, Seattle signed Jobe to the practice squad when the Eagles released him after two seasons in August 2024. His confidence was shaken, but he had found a scheme that augmented his physicality and immediately had Smith-Njigba bending the ear of coach Mike Macdonald about the third-year corner.
“I remember our veteran receivers saying, ‘Hey, this guy’s pretty dang good,’” Macdonald said Wednesday. “And he kept making plays and when there was an opportunity to be on the field, we felt really confident for him to go out there and do his job. And he just kept hitting it.”
Jobe started earning call-ups to the game day roster, a promotion to the 53-man roster, and eventually starts in his first season in Seattle. But he elevated his play in 2025 and became a regular for arguably the best secondary in the NFL as the Seahawks are poised to face the Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday (6:30 p.m., NBC10).
The soft-spoken Jobe may float under the radar while cornerback Devon Witherspoon or safeties Julian Love and Nick Emmanwori get most of the attention. But teams around the league likely are aware of Jobe with the fourth-year pro set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
His ascension may seem sudden — which Jobe acknowledged — but only he knows all the steps he had to climb. As for pending free agency, he said he should be “the top” corner on the market.
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“It is shocking — being undrafted and cut, trying to make the team throughout training camp,” Jobe said. “But I’ve been through a lot of adversity. So this is a big accomplishment. It’s pretty awesome. It’s a pretty great story.
“I thank Seattle for this opportunity. I would love to stay in Seattle. Hopefully, something works out.”
Nearly three years ago, Jobe saw his pre-draft stock fall because of a hamstring injury he suffered during his senior year. The Eagles snagged him after the draft. He contributed mostly on special teams, and started three games in 2023 when injuries forced him into the lineup.
He played two snaps at the Seahawks late in the season. Starter James Bradberry was getting torched so badly by receiver DK Metcalf that he was pulled before a series.
“I jumped in, and I got a flag,” Jobe said.
Metcalf — another future teammate who eventually would praise Jobe — drew a pass interference penalty vs. the handsy cornerback. Jobe logged one more snap and then was yanked himself. Smith-Njigba later caught the game-winning touchdown over the overmatched Bradberry.
Jobe, meanwhile, never quite hit his stride in the Eagles’ Vic Fangio-influenced defense. When Fangio was hired as defensive coordinator in 2024, and general manager Howie Roseman expended the team’s top two picks on Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, Jobe became the odd man out.
He said the additional competition didn’t affect him.
“I’ve been going against vets for years — [Darius] Slay, James Bradberry, and other guys,” Jobe said. “I’m used to competing since I was at Alabama. I’m all about competing. At the end of the day, what they decide is out of my control.”
The Eagles released Jobe after training camp. Seahawks general manager John Schneider scooped him up two days later. He saw a corner who could fit in McDonald’s aggressive scheme, which had similarities to the one Jobe played in at Alabama. It helped that Karl Scott, his defensive backs coach with the Crimson Tide, was in Seattle by then.
“He’s taken a slow climb to get where he’s going,” Scott said. “He’d be the first to tell you that he has a ton to learn about the position. He has a lot of the tools, especially his pure confidence, whether that’s false or real.
“Having confidence in yourself is important. I think a lot of that comes from hard work.”
Scott said he was worried this offseason about the cornerback spot opposite Witherspoon because Smith-Njigba was getting the better of Jobe and Riq Woolen. But when it became obvious during the season that the receiver had jumped to the elite level at his position, he recalibrated.
“I think, in turn, Josh contributed to Jaxon’s improvement,” Scott said. “He was jamming receivers and you would see them autocorrecting themselves. That was a sign to us in training camp that we might have something.”
Woolen might have been drafted by Schneider, but Jobe’s progress forced the Seahawks to split time between the two.
“That’s a great example of the pride that we take in how we run our program,” Macdonald said. “When you come in and you play great football, and you’re a great teammate, you’re going to get an opportunity to play.”
A year ago, Jobe said he watched the Eagles play in the Super Bowl “[ticked] off.” He said he was rooting for his former teammates, though, and that he appreciated Roseman and the Eagles giving him a first chance.
“At the end of the day it’s just a business and I wasn’t going to let that bring me down,” Jobe said. “I know what kind of person I am, what kind of player I am. So I just moved onto the next organization and showed them what kind of person and what kind of man I am.”
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Jobe is about to become a first-time father. His fiancée, Nayomie Suarez, is due on March 13. They’re having a daughter.
“We’re naming her Ami,” Jobe said, “short for Amelia.”
Scott, more than anyone in football, has seen Jobe mature before his eyes.
“Whether he’s in a room with big names or no-names, Josh is a very quiet, cerebral guy. … I wish everything that’s coming to him in the future, but I don’t think it’s possible now to keep Joshua a secret,” Scott said.
“He’s done the part that everybody asked him to do, and now in turn, he’s going to hopefully get what he deserves.”