Defensive Player Of The Month, Wrapping Up The Season And More

“A: A good case could be made for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had a breakout second season with 100 catches for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns, with that receptions total tying Tyler Lockett’s single-season franchise record. But Smith-Njigba’s breakout seemed to be more the result of better health and of him getting more opportunities more than anything else. The 2023 first-round pick looked really good last year as well, but he also battled multiple injuries and just didn’t get the volume of targets that he saw this year.

So as impressive as Smith-Njigba’s second season was, I’d go with outside linebacker Derick Hall for most improved. Hall, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, had a pretty quiet rookie season, starting zero games and playing only 26 percent of Seattle’s defensive snaps while recording no sacks, three tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. A strong training camp helped Hall earn a bigger role this season, and he took advantage in a big way, starting 14 games, increasing his playing time to 60 percent of the defensive snaps on his way to 8.0 sacks, the second most on team, 20 quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery that he returned 36 yards for a touchdown.”