{
  "id": 13132046,
  "title": "Why the 49ers likely won’t shadow Jaxon Smith Njigba",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/why-the-49ers-likely-wont-shadow-jaxon-smith-njigba",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-09T14:17:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-49ers-likely-won-t-141718565.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The San Francisco 49ers face a significant challenge this week as they prepare to defend against Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has been excelling throughout the season with impressive stats. The 49ers have been successful in limiting explosive plays, but Smith-Njigba's performance warrants a different approach. While the team has considered shadowing Smith-Njigba, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has explained why this strategy is not ideal in today's game. He mentioned that players move around and cover various positions, making it difficult to consistently assign a corner to shadow one specific receiver. Instead, the 49ers will have to devise other game plans to limit Smith-Njigba's targets and handle his versatile playmaking. Despite the difficulties, the 49ers have managed to restrict explosive plays thus far, but this matchup against Smith-Njigba will undoubtedly be their most significant challenge as they head into a crucial rivalry game on Sunday.",
  "summary": "The 49ers aren’t likely to put Deommodore Lenoir on Seattle’s star receiver.",
  "key_points": [
    "49ers face challenge against Jaxon Smith-Njigba.",
    "Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris explains shadowing strategy is ineffective.",
    "Team must devise alternative game plans to limit Smith-Njigba's targets."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}