Seahawks’ JSN named NFL Offensive Player of the Year by PFWA

After one of the best receiving seasons in NFL history, Seattle Seahawks star wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America on Wednesday.

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Smith-Njigba, whose league-high 1,793 receiving yards were the eighth-most in a single season in NFL history, became the third wide receiver to earn the PFWA’s Offensive Player of the Year award since it began in 1992. The others were Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson in 2022 and current Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, who won the award with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.

Smith-Njigba is the second player in Seahawks history to receive PFWA Offensive Player of the Year honors. The other was star running back Shaun Alexander, who won both that award and the PFWA’s MVP award in 2005. Other Seahawks PFWA award winners include Hall of Fame defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy (1992 Defensive Player of the Year) and quarterback Geno Smith (2022 Most Improved Player of the Year and 2022 Comeback Player of the Year).

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Smith-Njigba, a unanimous AP first-team All-Pro selection, shattered the Seahawks’ single-season franchise records for receiving yards and receptions. Smith-Njigba’s 1,793 receiving yards were 490 more than DK Metcalf’s previous single-season franchise record in 2020. And Smith-Njigba’s 119 receptions were 19 more than the franchise’s previous single-season record of 100, which Smith-Njigba (2024) and Tyler Lockett (2020) had shared.

Smith-Njigba joined Hall of Fame wideout Steve Largent as the second player in Seahawks history to lead the NFL in receiving, and he did so despite Seattle having the league’s third-highest run rate.

Smith-Njigba accounted for a whopping 44.1% of the Seahawks’ receiving yards and 30.6% of their total yardage, while helping lead Seattle to a franchise-best 14-3 regular season and the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who threw for a league-high 4,707 yards and a league-leading 46 touchdown passes, was named the PFWA’s Most Valuable Player.

The Seahawks host the Rams in the NFC Championship at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Lumen Field, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

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