Former Ohio State Buckeye Jaxon Smith-Njigba Adds Award to Historic Season

Former Ohio State Buckeyes' wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba earned the NFL's 2025 Offensive Player of the Year after he took the league by storm in his third season.

The budding star burst onto the scene in his third season, hauling in 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. He flirted with the triple-crown but fell just a touch short as he finished fourth, first, and tenth in each category, respectively.

Smith-Njigba became a force this year, and it was from week one through last week's NFC Championship game. He bookended the year with a nine-catch, 124-yard game and a 10-catch, 153-yard, one-touchdown performance in the NFC Championship, propelling the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

JSN's season in 2025 was the exclamation point on Ohio State dominating the wide receiver position over the past decade. 

The dominant list of names that have come from Wide Receiver U starts with Michael Thomas and goes through Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and potential future stars in Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith.

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As it stands right now, Smith-Njigba stands above them all at the top of the list.

What makes JSN such an amazing wide receiver is that he is an absolute technician when it comes to route running. He has surgical precision and timing that make him hard to guard. 

He then marries that to elite speed, quickness, and a football IQ that is tough to match. That combination makes him impossible to guard.

The cherry on top is that he has the best hands in the NFL, bar none. 

Smith-Njigba credits a lot of his ability to the competition that he went up against every day on his Ohio State teams and the standard that was set by coach Brian Hartline in that wide receiver room.

Now, JSN has the opportunity to further etch his name in the history books on Sunday night in Super Bowl 60. 

The third-year star is going to be a key component of the Seahawks quest to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. He has been a major reason why Sam Darnold has been unlocked this season.

For his efforts, he was awarded the 2026 Offensive Player of the Year, and he just needs one more great performance to become a part of football royalty forever.

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