Smith-Njigba, who currently leads the NFL in receiving yards (820), put together three straight games with 100-plus yards and a touchdown during October. In Seattle’s most recent game, Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, which he celebrated by dunking the football over the crossbar. In Week 6 vs. the Jaguars, he had 162 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. And then earlier in October against the Buccaneers, Smith-Njigba also had eight catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. While piling up 417 yards and three touchdowns in October, Smith-Njigba also became the second pass-catcher in franchise history, along with DK Metcalf, to record three consecutive 100-yard games.
What makes this award even more impressive is that Seattle has only played three games in October, rather than four, because of a Week 8 bye.
After Smith-Njigba’s performance against the Texans, head coach Mike Macdonald said, “He’s a Seahawk man. How he operates, his determination, the pride he takes in his work. I’ll tell you what, guy’s a great teammate. The great ones are, and I know everybody’s out there supporting him and he fights like crazy for his teammates as well. But he’s obviously doing great.”
This is his first Player of the Month award. He was nominated for the FedEx Player of the Week after his performance against the Jaguars in Week 6. The last Seahawks player to be named a Player of the Month was Leonard Williams who was named December/January Player of the Month last season.