Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo returns to Massachusetts, leaves Gillette Stadium a winner
FOXBORO — Seahawks second-year wide receiver Jake Bobo walked away from Gillette Stadium with his first NFL win at the venue where he spent his childhood watching Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
The North Andover native caught just two passes for 15 yards in Seattle’s 23-20 overtime win on Sunday, but it’s a victory that came in front of dozens of Bobo’s friends and family members.
“Pre-game, it hits you a little bit, you’re a little bit in awe,” Bobo told reporters in the visitor’s locker room, “just being that guy sitting up there at the top of the bowl watching these games forever. But as soon as the ball kicks off, it’s just football. It was cool to play these guys, seeing that logo on the side of the helmet was really cool.”
“You think about them still under Bill, but obviously, it’s Coach (Jerod) Mayo’s team,” he added. “But you saw today, those guys still have that edge, that same mentality. It is a new era, but that old era will stick around.”
It’s the second time that Bobo has played at Gillette – the first coming a few months before the Patriots defeated the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
As a freshman at Belmont Hill Academy, Bobo caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Harry Kraft, the son of Jonathan Kraft, in the 2014 Independent School League championship against Governor’s Academy.
Belmont Hill lost the matchup, but Bobo, who turned into a standout and an annual Prep School All-Scholastic, said he thought about that game while on the bus ride over to Gillette and when he walked out for the first half of pregame on Sunday.
Bobo, who graduated from Belmont Hill in 2018, is flanked by star receiver DK Metcalf and 2023 first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the Seattle locker room. His teammates combined for 22 receptions, 246 yards and a touchdown Sunday.
“Being able to be in a room with those guys, in an offense with those guys, it’s fun, it’s fun for me to watch from the sidelines,” Bobo said of Metcalf and Smith-Njigba. “I can only imagine how it is for you guys and everybody else up in the stands.”
Bobo, 26, posted three modest seasons with Duke before starring in his senior year and then using an extra year of eligibility at UCLA. Seattle signed him as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 draft.
As a rookie, Bobo compiled just 19 receptions, 196 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but Metcalf told the Herald he believes his teammate’s journey in the NFL is “just starting.”
“He’s a hardworking dude, he’s always putting his best foot forward in anything he does,” Metcalf said of Bobo. “I’m just happy for us to get him last year. He showed out as a rookie and is starting to become a household name that other teams really have to gameplan for.”