Jaxon Smith-Njigba made a visit to Fenway Park for Monday night's Red Sox-Pirates game.
If this month's NFL draft plays out the way some fans hope, he could be spending a lot more time around the Boston area in the coming years.
Smith-Njigba is one of this year's top wide receiver prospects, and the Patriots have lacked elite talent at the position for the past several seasons. New England typically does not target wideouts in the first round, but if Bill Belichick strays from that approach, the Ohio State product would be an enticing option at pick No. 14 overall.
How would Smith-Njigba feel about becoming a Patriot? NESN sideline reporter Jahmai Webster asked him that question when he sat down with the receiver during the game broadcast.
"I loved it here so far," said Smith-Njigba, who was in town to watch his older brother, Canaan, a Pittsburgh outfielder. "You all have treated me with just great respect and shown me a good time. So, we'll see. Maybe I'm here in a few months."
Smith-Njigba's trip to Massachusetts doesn't include a visit with the Patriots, according to a report from Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports, but the team reportedly had an "extensive private meeting" with him at the Buckeyes' pro day earlier this month.
A highly touted slot receiver, Smith-Njigba caught 90 passes for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns during an electric 2021 season before missing most of his 2022 campaign with a hamstring injury. He measured in at 6-foot-1, 196 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine and posted terrific times in the three-cone drill (6.57 seconds) and the short shuttle (3.93).
Those drills measure short-area quickness, and Smith-Njigba tested in the 96th percentile or better in both, garnering comparisons to Julian Edelman.
The Patriots also have done their homework on some of the other premier wideouts in this draft class, meeting multiple times with TCU's Quentin Johnston and scheduling a top-30 visit with USC's Jordan Addison. Both are projected first-rounders.
N'Keal Harry (32nd overall, 2009) is the only Round 1 receiver New England has drafted under Belichick.
