Former Ohio State football player Jaxon Smith-Njigba has a complicated past with Buckeye fans. He seemingly sat out the College Football Playoff back in 2022 to help protect his draft stock. In fact, the Seahawks claimed his injury issues were caused by the Buckeyes. While he ended up being a first-round pick, that never sat well with a certain sect of the fans.
Since then, Smith-Njigba has turned into the best receiver in the NFL. He had his best season last year, leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl. He led the league in receiving and was clearly the best weapon in the league. JSN was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
The award was finally shipped to Smith-Njigba, as he was not able to be at the NFL Honors to receive it in person because he was preparing for the Super Bowl. Now that he has it, the NFL disrespected him in a real way that seems absurd for the biggest league in sports.
Former Ohio State receiver gets wrong award from the NFL
Somehow, the NFL sent Smith-Njigba the wrong award. On his trophy, it says "Defensive Player of the Year" instead of "Offensive Player of the Year". Smith-Njigba showed that off on social media.
#Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba received his Offensive Player of the Year trophy … but the plaque says Defensive Player of the Year. 🤦♂️
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 19, 2026
“It’s getting disrespectful at this point.” pic.twitter.com/mzDlTvACDk
How the NFL could possibly make this mistake is beyond me. The NFL is the biggest sports league in the country. JSN also won this award several months ago. How did they possibly screw this up? Whoever made that mistake is likely getting a stern talking to by the league office.
Smith-Njigba will likely be getting a new award shipped to him relatively soon. He won that award for his great play last year, and he deserves to get the proper trophy for his accomplishments. Smith-Njigba also has some greater accomplishments on his mind for the future.
Ohio State can use Smith-Njigba's success for recruiitng purposes
The Ohio State Buckeyes have and certainly will continue to use Smith-Njigba's success to help recruiting. Ohio State usually gets the best receivers in the country out of high school every year. That might be a bit more of a struggle now, but they should still use JSN as a recruiting tool.
Ohio State helped develop him into a first-round pick, as well as the best weapon in the league from a pass-catching standpoint. Now, he is not just the best receiver in the league, but possibly the best overall offensive player. He is a big reason why the Seahawks won the title.
Smith-Njigba is still going to get better, too. He is still just 24 years old, so he is not in his prime. The key for him will be to see if he can still get open with additional attention. He will be the top option that defenses pay attention to for the next few years.
Af for Ohio State, his continued success is good for the Buckeyes. Whenever a former Buckeye does well, it's really good for recruiting and for Ryan Day.
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