The Seattle Seahawks may not repeat as Super Bowl champions, and quite frankly, they don't resemble Super Bowl champions right now. That doesn't mean Jaxon Smith-Njigba can't repeat, though, and by the way he's playing, he's on a repeat-kind of trajectory.
Despite the Seahawks losing to the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, Smith-Njigba had another huge day on offense. For the fourth time in five games, the star wideout went over 100 yards receiving, and after Week 5's completion, he sits atop the NFL wide receiver stats leaders with 583 yards.
It's familiar territory, considering Smith-Njigba led the league last year, too. His numbers would eventually earn him the Offensive Player of the Year award. Again, he's soaring in the wide-receiving yards race, and if he keeps this pace, what's to stop him from adding to his list of personal accolades?
Is MVP in the cards if Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba repeats as OPOY?
Not only is Smith-Njigba leading the league in receiving yards, but he's also leading in receiving touchdowns (7) and receptions of 20+ yards. He ranks fifth in receptions (37), sixth in targets (51), and fifth in yards after the catch (185), which is his most dangerous skill. Like only a small handful of other wideouts, Smith-Njigba is almost unstoppable.
What he's doing is ripe for Offensive Player of the Year candidacy, which would be a back-to-back achievement if he wins it this season. Furthermore, if Smith-Njigba keeps going the way he's going, he has every chance of entering the league MVP discussion, joining Kenneth Walker III, his former Seahawks teammate, and the only two non-quarterbacks in the conversation.
Walker is also on track to enter the MVP conversation as a running back. Smith-Njigba is doing the same as a wide receiver, and he will get there by continuing to average 15.8 yards per catch and 116.6 REC yards per game (both categories are also league-leading), while racking up receiving yards and touchdowns.
There's no denying Sam Darnold is struggling, but his connection with Smith-Njigba hasn't tailed off. The latter's route running, separation, and chemistry with Darnold have continued from last season to this one.
While he should have caught the last throw by Darnold to possibly get the win over the 49ers, when have we ever seen Smith-Njigba drop a pass like that before? His drop wasn't the reason for the Seahawks' loss, but a catch could have sealed a win.
In any case, since drops like that aren't typical of Smith-Njigba, it's unlikely to happen again this season. As for his numbers, he'll have a chance to extend his lead over his peers when the Seahawks face the Denver Broncos for a Week 6 Thursday Night Football showdown.
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