Yesterday, Minnesota Vikings’ outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith was named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season. Today, he was recognized again with an even bigger award.
Smith has been named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for the Month of October in addition to the weekly award he just received.
Smith was one of the big catalysts in the Vikings’ undefeated October (4-0), as he had 6.5 quarterback sacks and was tied for the NFL lead in tackles for loss with eight. He also had the second-most quarterback pressures during the month of October with 22, but it’s worth noting that the only player that had more that month, Seattle’s Uchenna Nwosu, played in one more game and had 118 more defensive snaps than Smith did but had just one more pressure, per the Vikings’ team website.