RENTON — The accolades keep piling up for Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the midst of the best start for a receiver in Seahawks history, and one of the best ever in the NFL.
The latest?
Smith-Njigba was named as the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Month for October on Thursday after he caught 24 passes for 417 yards and three touchdowns in three games.
Smith-Njigba had 100 or more receiving yards in all three games in October, tying a team record for consecutive 100-yard game set a year ago by DK Metcalf.
“It’s special, man; it’s special,” said Smith-Njigba of the honor. “Football, it takes everyone, so I want to give that out to my teammates, honestly, because (it doesn’t happen) without the defense getting us opportunities, the O-line doing their thing, (quarterback) Sam (Darnold) doing his thing. It’s bigger than me.’’
Despite the Seahawks having their bye last week — they are one of 14 teams to have played just seven games so far — Smith-Njigba has the most receiving yards in the NFL by a wide margin, 819 to the 720 of Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals, who has played eight games.
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Maybe most eye-catching of all, Smith-Njigba is on pace for 1,989 yards for the season, which would break the NFL single-season record of 1,964 set by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson in 2012.
All of which leads to the inevitable question: Can Smith-Njigba keep up his historically torrid pace?
Two players who have been there before — Smith-Njigba’s teammate Cooper Kupp and Seahawks legend Steve Largent — say there will be challenges, both in how opponents try to defend him and in maintaining playing at a rarefied level week in and week out.
They think Smith-Njigba is well-positioned to keep producing as he has.
Kupp finished with 1,947 receiving yards — second in league history behind Johnson — during his “triple crown season” of 2021 when he led the league in yards, catches and touchdown receptions.
Kupp said he expects opponents to increasingly try to figure out how to contain Smith-Njigba and that his ability to battle through any rough moments that result will be key.
“They’re going to have a plan to stop Jax,” Kupp said. “They’re going to have a plan to make things difficult for him. The hardest thing is like, ‘Hey, you might have some plays.’ (But) there’s going to be some tough dry spells in the game where they’re saying that, ‘We’re not letting Jax get the ball.’
“And you have to be willing to push through that mentally, and allow yourself to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to find ways to win, even when they’re saying that there’s no way I’m going to.’ … Being able to stay in those places where late in the game, there’s going to be opportunities to come your way and the last thing you want to be doing is floating around mentally when that opportunity comes (and) trying to stay engaged in that place. And he’s done a good job at that.”
Largent holds the team record for receiving yards per game at 82.5, one of many franchise marks he set during a career that ended with first-ballot induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Largent, whose numerous NFL records include finishing his career with a then-record 100 TD receptions, faced everything defenses of his era could throw at a receiver and says Smith-Njigba can expect the same treatment going forward.
But Largent says that defenses can also only alter their schemes so much to try to contain a single receiver.
“When I played they would try to double-team me in certain situations, key situations, third-and-long or something like that,” Largent said in a phone interview this week. “And sometimes they were successful at it, sometimes they weren’t. But for the most part I think most defenses just try to play smart football and they know that they can’t just focus on one receiver because another receiver will beat them.
“So I think most teams can’t really double team one player for very much of a game because of the susceptibility that they have at other spots on their defense.”
Smith-Njigba said going against a Seahawks defense that ranks among the best in the NFL, as well as cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe, has him feeling prepared each week for whatever a defense may throw at him.
“I feel like I’ve seen every look,” he said.
Also a challenge for Smith-Njigba will be the increasing attention from media and others, particularly if he is still within reach of Johnson’s record as the final weeks of the season approach.
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Kupp said he remembers getting questions from reporters each week about the record. But he insisted that was the only time he really thought about it.
“I had no idea where I was at in the game or anything,” Kupp said. “After the season, you look back on it and see where things were at and what it was. You’re just so invested in the moment and what is important right now, which is executing my job. So, it’s not something that really enters your mind.”
Largent garnered significant attention in 1985 when he broke the NFL record for most consecutive games with a catch at 128. He finished his career with 177, a record broken a few years later by Washington’s Art Monk and now held by Jerry Rice at 274.
Largent also said the key is to think only about the immediate task at hand.
“There was no pressure, no anticipation at all,” Largent said. “My focus was on trying to win as many games as we could and nothing more than that.’’
Smith-Njigba echoed those thoughts when asked Thursday about his record pace.
“Yeah, I mean anything can happen — that’s the mindset that I have,” he said. “So I’m just grateful for today (to) have an opportunity to come out there on Thursday and prepare for Sunday night (a game against the Washington Commanders) … that’s the mindset I have, just day-to-day, get better. How can we go 1-0, how can I be there for my teammates, and be there for Sam (Darnold) when that time comes? That’s really the mindset that I have’’
While Kupp is getting an up-close look at Smith-Njigba’s potentially historic season, the 71-year-old Largent is watching avidly from Tulsa, saying he is “basically retired” from all work and mostly spending time with his four kids and 10 grandkids.
He hasn’t had a chance to talk with Smith-Njigba but said: “I love watching him play. … He’s incredibly quick, as well as being fast. And there’s a difference between being quick and being fast. But he’s both. And he catches the ball well. He’s a fun guy to watch.”
And if Smith-Njigba ends up erasing Largent’s record for receiving yards per game this season — or any other marks in years down the road — all the better, he says.
“The game has changed and I would never expect anything but what is taking place, that my records will be eclipsed,” he said. “And then their records will be eclipsed. But that’s the nature of the game and that’s what makes football so fun and I enjoy it still.”
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.