The NFL has seen dominant seasons before. What it doesn’t often see is inevitability — a year so complete that by the end, the only real question is which award comes next.
For the 2025 season, that answer was clear.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday night at NFL Honors, officially stamping a season that had already begun to feel historic long before the votes were counted.
At just 23 years old, the former Ohio State standout didn’t simply lead the league in receiving yards. He redefined Seattle’s offense around himself.
His 1,793 receiving yards ranked eighth all-time in a single NFL season — a number that feels even heavier when paired with context: consistency, timing, and reliability on a team that leaned on him week after week.
This wasn’t a flash. It was control.
Smith-Njigba’s dominance carried the Seahawks all the way to the Super Bowl, where they’ll face the New England Patriots on Sunday. The award arrives not as a capstone, but as a prelude — recognition arriving while the story is still unfolding.
That’s rare.
He joins elite company as just the second former Ohio State wide receiver to win the award, alongside Michael Thomas, who set the NFL’s single-season receptions record in 2019. In a program known for producing NFL-ready receivers, Smith-Njigba now occupies a singular tier — not just successful, but definitive.
The recognition didn’t stop there. Smith-Njigba was also named a unanimous AP NFL All-Pro, a distinction that quietly underscores the lack of debate surrounding his season. There was no split perception. No lingering doubt. Across the league, evaluators saw the same thing.
A player who dictated coverage and still produced.
Including Seattle’s first two playoff games, Smith-Njigba’s season totals climb even higher: 132 receptions, 1,965 yards, and 12 touchdowns across 19 games.
Those numbers don’t just suggest volume — they reflect endurance. The ability to remain the focal point while defenses adjust, schemes evolve, and pressure intensifies.
And yet, there’s something understated about how this season is being remembered.
There was no viral persona shift. No loud rebrand. Smith-Njigba didn’t campaign for attention. He let repetition do the talking. Route after route. Catch after catch. Third downs. Late moments. Silent dominance.
That approach mirrors the larger trend among elite receivers — less spectacle, more inevitability. When a player becomes the answer before the question is asked, awards follow naturally.
It also places him at an interesting crossroads. This is his third NFL season. Not his peak. Not his breakout. Just the moment where perception caught up to reality.
The Super Bowl now looms as the final act of a year that’s already carved into record books. A championship wouldn’t redefine Smith-Njigba’s season — but it would amplify its meaning. From individual excellence to collective consequence.
It’s also worth noting the symmetry of the night. Another former Ohio State figure, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, was named AP NFL Coach of the Year. Two Buckeyes. Two trophies. Two paths converging on the sport’s biggest stage.
That convergence feels symbolic.
Smith-Njigba didn’t just win Offensive Player of the Year because of stats. He won because the season bent around him — quietly, steadily, and without pause.
And now, with one game left, the question isn’t how good this season was.
It’s how much bigger the next one might be.
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