Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 985 receiving yards after Week 8, 259 more than anyone else in the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks receiver had six catches for 118 yards and a touchdown in Monday night’s 34–17 loss to Chicago, his seventh 100-yard game in eight tries. Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins moved from eighth to second with 155 yards and two touchdowns in the 43–36 win over Tennessee, and has 726.
The catch count is tighter. Arizona tight end Trey McBride had seven receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown in the 33–30 win at Dallas and leads the league with 66, two more than Smith-Njigba. CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys, who had seven catches for 58 yards in that game, is third with 60. Week 8 is complete, so every number below is final through eight weeks.
NFL receiving yards leaders after Week 8
| Rank | Player | Team | G | Rec | Yards | TD | Per game | Week 8 yards | Rank after Wk 7 | Week 9 (Cairo time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | 8 | 64 | 985 | 9 | 123.1 | 118 | 1 | vs. Arizona, Sun 23:25 |
| 2 | Tee Higgins | CIN | 7 | 43 | 726 | 4 | 103.7 | 155 | 8 | vs. Atlanta in Madrid, Sun 16:30 |
| 3 | CeeDee Lamb | DAL | 8 | 60 | 709 | 6 | 88.6 | 58 | 2 | at Indianapolis, Sun 20:00 |
| 4 | Christian Watson | GB | 8 | 42 | 708 | 6 | 88.5 | 113 | 7 | at New England, Sun 23:25 |
| 5 | Chris Olave | NO | 7 | 49 | 636 | 2 | 90.9 | Bye | 3 | vs. Cleveland, Sun 20:00 |
| 6 | Drake London | ATL | 8 | 39 | 624 | 1 | 78.0 | 8 | 4 | vs. Cincinnati in Madrid, Sun 16:30 |
| 7 | Matthew Golden | GB | 8 | 43 | 619 | 4 | 77.4 | 79 | 9 | at New England, Sun 23:25 |
| 8 | Zay Flowers | BAL | 7 | 40 | 608 | 3 | 86.9 | 0 | 5 | vs. Jacksonville, Fri 03:15 |
| 9 | Malik Nabers | NYG | 7 | 48 | 605 | 2 | 86.4 | Bye | 6 | at Philadelphia, Sun 20:00 |
| 10 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | 7 | 53 | 571 | 5 | 81.6 | 46 | 10 | at Miami, Sun 20:00 |
| 11 | Tetairoa McMillan | CAR | 7 | 42 | 569 | 2 | 81.3 | 58 | 11 | vs. Denver, Sun 20:00 |
| 12 | Puka Nacua | LAR | 6 | 56 | 565 | 3 | 94.2 | 80 | T-13 | at Washington, Sun 20:00 |
Smith-Njigba averages 123.1 yards a game, which works out to about 2,093 over 17 games. The single-season record is 1,964, set by Calvin Johnson in 2012. With nine games left for Seattle, he needs 979 more yards, or 108.8 a game, to pass it. He also leads in receiving touchdowns with nine, three more than Chase, Lamb, Watson and Mike Gesicki, who have six each.
Higgins has played seven games and averages 103.7 yards, second to Smith-Njigba among the top 12. His 155 yards came on 10 catches, and Ja’Marr Chase had 11 for 141 and a touchdown in the same game, so Cincinnati had two receivers over 140 yards. Higgins has four touchdowns and three 100-yard games, and the Bengals play Atlanta in Madrid on Sunday at 16:30 Cairo time.
Lamb fell from second to third. He has 709 yards, one more than Watson (708), who had eight catches for 113 yards in the 27–19 win over Carolina and moved from seventh to fourth. Atlanta’s Drake London had one catch for eight yards on six targets in the 16–0 loss at Tampa Bay, and Baltimore’s Zay Flowers had no catches on five targets in the 36–10 loss at Buffalo. London fell from fourth to sixth and Flowers from fifth to eighth. Olave and Nabers were on a bye.
Smith-Njigba’s lead, week by week
| Week | Smith-Njigba yards | Smith-Njigba total | Second place after the week | Lead (negative = behind) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 122 | 122 | Chris Olave (182) | -60 |
| 2 | 155 | 277 | Chris Olave (268) | 9 |
| 3 | 128 | 405 | Chris Olave (375) | 30 |
| 4 | 76 | 481 | CeeDee Lamb (498) | -17 |
| 5 | 102 | 583 | Chris Olave (537) | 46 |
| 6 | 134 | 717 | Chris Olave (580) | 137 |
| 7 | 150 | 867 | CeeDee Lamb (651) | 216 |
| 8 | 118 | 985 | Tee Higgins (726) | 259 |
Smith-Njigba trailed after Weeks 1 and 4, and has led by at least 137 yards after each of the last three weeks. His lead over second place was 216 after Week 7 and grew to 259 even though Higgins had the biggest receiving game of the week. He has topped 100 yards in four straight games: 102, 134, 150 and 118. His only game under 100 yards this season was 76 in Week 4.
NFL receptions leaders after Week 8
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | G | Rec | Targets | Per game | Week 8 rec | Week 9 (Cairo time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trey McBride | ARI | TE | 8 | 66 | 86 | 8.2 | 7 | at Seattle, Sun 23:25 |
| 2 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | WR | 8 | 64 | 89 | 8.0 | 6 | vs. Arizona, Sun 23:25 |
| 3 | CeeDee Lamb | DAL | WR | 8 | 60 | 92 | 7.5 | 7 | at Indianapolis, Sun 20:00 |
| 4 | Puka Nacua | LAR | WR | 6 | 56 | 74 | 9.3 | 11 | at Washington, Sun 20:00 |
| 5 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | WR | 7 | 53 | 76 | 7.6 | 7 | at Miami, Sun 20:00 |
| 6 | Chris Olave | NO | WR | 7 | 49 | 71 | 7.0 | Bye | vs. Cleveland, Sun 20:00 |
| 7 | Malik Nabers | NYG | WR | 7 | 48 | 70 | 6.9 | Bye | at Philadelphia, Sun 20:00 |
| 8 | Michael Wilson | ARI | WR | 8 | 45 | 81 | 5.6 | 8 | at Seattle, Sun 23:25 |
| T-9 | Garrett Wilson | NYJ | WR | 8 | 43 | 63 | 5.4 | 6 | at Kansas City, Sun 20:00 |
| T-9 | Matthew Golden | GB | WR | 8 | 43 | 82 | 5.4 | 7 | at New England, Sun 23:25 |
McBride has caught at least seven passes in all eight games for Arizona, and has 86 targets, third behind Lamb (92) and Smith-Njigba (89). His 544 yards are 15th. The Cardinals’ Michael Wilson is eighth with 45 catches after eight for 111 yards and a touchdown at Dallas, so Arizona has two of the top eight. McBride and Smith-Njigba meet in Seattle on Sunday at 23:25 Cairo time, with the receptions lead at stake.
Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua has 56 catches in six games, an average of 9.3, the highest among the top 10, after 11 catches for 80 yards in the 24–9 win over the Chargers. He is fourth in total catches, ten behind McBride, with two games fewer than the leaders.
Who has led after each week
| After week | Receiving yards leader | Receptions leader |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Olave (182) | Amon-Ra St. Brown and Chris Olave (10) |
| 2 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (277) | Amon-Ra St. Brown (19) |
| 3 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (405) | Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (27) |
| 4 | CeeDee Lamb (498) | CeeDee Lamb (37) |
| 5 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (583) | Trey McBride (42) |
| 6 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (717) | Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Trey McBride (49) |
| 7 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (867) | Trey McBride (59) |
| 8 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (985) | Trey McBride (66) |
Smith-Njigba has led the yardage race after six of the eight weeks, with Chris Olave ahead after Week 1 and Lamb after Week 4. Five different players have held at least a share of the receptions lead after a week. McBride has led alone after Weeks 5, 7 and 8 and shared it with Smith-Njigba after Week 6.
Eight 100-yard games in Week 8
Eight receivers topped 100 yards in Week 8. Higgins had 155, and Cleveland tight end Harold Fannin Jr. had 154 on 10 catches in the 27–6 loss at Pittsburgh. Adonai Mitchell of the Jets had 142 yards and a touchdown on seven catches in the 38–33 loss to Las Vegas. Chase had 141, Kansas City’s Emmett Johnson 128 and a touchdown in the 28–24 loss at Denver, Smith-Njigba 118, Watson 113 and Wilson 111.
Smith-Njigba’s seven 100-yard games are three more than any other player. Malik Nabers has four, and Olave, Flowers, Watson, Lamb, Matthew Golden and Higgins have three each. Lamb, Smith-Njigba and McBride are the league’s three most-targeted players. In Week 9, Dallas plays at Indianapolis at 20:00 Cairo time on Sunday, and Watson and Golden’s Green Bay visits New England at 23:25.
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