Seahawks' Jake Bobo Has Geno Smith, Bobby Wagner 'Excited!'
All throughout the preseason, many Seattle Seahawks' eyes were on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and rightly so. He was the No. 20 pick in the draft, but there has been one receiver who has taken some of the limelight: undrafted rookie Jake Bobo.
After stacking good days on top of good days, Bobo set the preseason ablaze for Seattle as he made play after play. He was rewarded with a spot on Seattle's 53-man roster, and quarterback Geno Smith is happy that he's sticking around.
“I was so excited for Jake,” Smith said. “Thinking about back in OTAs and minicamp when he was making all those plays, and everyone was like okay, what is he going to do when we put the pads on? Everything we’ve seen from Bobo is what he is. He’s been making plays, he gets separation, gets open, catches the ball, and he’s been a great player for us."
Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner echoed Smith's excitement while also admitting that people had doubts about Bobo.
"Guys were like ‘Well wait until the pads come on’ and it started happening when the pads came on," Wagner said of Bobo. "Then it was ‘Wait until the game’ and each moment or each challenge he was faced with, he just stepped up to the plate more and more and did a really good job. So, I’m happy for him and excited for him."
Bobo, a former UCLA product, had an uphill battle to make the team after going undrafted, but that didn't deter him as he got down to business and made the Seahawks' coaching staff take notice of his talent through hard work during camp.
Of course, making plays in camp compared to real NFL action are two different things, but Bobo again stepped up and caught seven passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns in his preseason outings.
© Steven Bisig, USA TODAY
Smith has seen that Bobo knows what his skillset is, and staying within those boundaries has been a big factor in his success so far.
“He just understands himself, he understands what he’s working with, he knows how to set guys up and how to get open,” Smith said. “Pretty sure he’s had that speed his entire life, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a great playmaker. He’s showing us he’s going to be a really good receiver, and we got to continue to help him get better.”
Bobo has done a mountain of work to get to where he is now, but the hard work is only beginning. He has to continue to produce and improve.
Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams will be his first "real" taste of NFL action, and we will see if Bobo can continue his rapid rise.
Based on what we have seen so far, we have little reason to think that his preseason form won't carry over to when the real stuff starts.
