During the first month of the season, Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua appeared to be a lock for Offensive Player of the Year. Following his ankle injury that has kept him out for most of L.A.’s last two games, the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba might be on his way to stealing OPOY honors from Nacua.
JSN has been on an absolute tear this season in Seattle. Smith-Njigba has displayed remarkable chemistry with new quarterback Sam Darnold, registering five 100+ yard performances in seven games. His last three games in particular have been a sight to behold.
The third-year wideout from Ohio State is one of only three receivers to have had 100 yards receiving in over 50% of their games this season, joining the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb and the Vikings’ Jordan Addison. For comparison, Puka has gone over the century mark in three of his six games played, though the Ravens game doesn’t count as much, considering he was injured in the second quarter and wasn’t productive after returning.
Either way, what JSN has done in Seattle through the first seven weeks has been prolific. So prolific that his production is matching a certain Hall of Famer:
Currently, Smith-Njigba is tied for fifth in receptions (50), first in yards (819)—which is 190 yards more than reigning OPOY Ja’Marr Chase—and tied for 11th in touchdowns (4), according to ESPN. He is within spitting distance of the leaderboard in each of those three categories.
The Seahawks wideout is coming off his first 100-reception and 1,000-yard campaign. It was only a matter of time before he broke onto the scene and joined the league’s big dogs. Smith-Njigba is just the latest in a long line of productive playmakers from OSU. Even if he doesn’t earn the coveted triple crown, you’d have to think that his breaking the NFL record for receiving yards in a season would alone give him OPOY honors.
There is still plenty of hope for Nacua in the OPOY hunt, as he’s not out of the chase just yet. He’ll have another week to rest his ankle and return stronger than ever. That said, both he and JSN will be going at it twice after the Rams’ bye, so get the popcorn ready, since those matchups could have some hardware on the line for the two receivers.
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