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Why Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba deserves Offensive Player of the Year

Caelan Thomas|
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates as he crosses the goal line after catching a touchdown pass during the second quarter in an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates as he crosses the goal line after catching a touchdown pass during the second quarter in an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

What better choice for the award of Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) than the player who led the NFL in receiving yards? When Michael Thomas led the league in receiving yards in 2019, he won OPOY. When Cooper Kupp did it in 2021, he won OPOY. When Justin Jefferson did it in 2022, he too, won OPOY.

History of the OPOY Award

In the modern NFL era, no wide receiver has won OPOY without leading the league in receiving yards. In fact, it wasn't until recently that wide receivers starting winning the award at all. Up until around 2018, when teams became more and more pass-centric and less run-centric, OPOY was almost exclusively an award given to running backs.

From 1998 to 2018, 0 wide receivers and 15 running backs won OPOY. Nowadays, with the value of the passing the ball more appreciated, OPOY has become just as much of a wide receiver award as a running back award. From 2019 to 2024, 3 wide receivers and 3 running backs have been granted the coveted title of OPOY.

Efficiency Metrics

The foundation of the Offensive Player of the Year award is a combination of elite volume and efficiency. While Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN) did not set the single season receiving record (although 1,793 yards does place 8th all-time), he did set a record for his efficiency as the receiving leader: JSN was the first ever NFL receiver to surpass 1,700 yards on fewer than 165 targets.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba also led the NFL in 10+ yard plays (79) and 40+ yard plays (8). This is how the Seattle Seahawks offense was able to maintain both high consistency (4th in passing success rate) and high explosiveness (2nd in passing yards per play). JSN's ability to separate and make tough catches at any part of the field is a unique asset to any offense. He is the only 2025 WR with a tight window rate below 15% and a catch rate above 70% on 120+ targets.

JSN is a menace against single coverage. There is no DB in the NFL that can prevent him from getting open one-on-one. He was the only WR to go deep (20+ yards) on 13% of targets and average more than 2.6 yards per route... He averaged 3.7 yards per route.

Role in the Offense

It's amazing that Jaxon Smith-Njigba was as productive as he was while being the only major receiving threat on the Seahawks offense. WR2 is veteran Cooper Kupp who was brought in as a mentor and a role player in the short game. In the 2025 season, JSN accounted for over half of his team's total air yards, something that hasn't been done in over a decade.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba became the first player in the Super Bowl era to lead the NFL in receiving yards on a team that ranked bottom-3 in pass play percentage. Seattle's quarterback was free agent Sam Darnold. To build that kind of trust and chemistry in year one is special. Usually receives need a season or more together to build rapport with a new quarterback. This was not the case for JSN. The best receivers are a quarterback's best friend on the football field. That's exactly what Jaxon has been for Sam: a reliable target to throw the ball to whenever he needed to complete a pass.

Route Running

Last but not least, JSN has been the best route runner and pass catcher in the NFL this year. He led the league in EPA on some of the most difficult routes to run: deep outs, corners, and posts. No other player was the NFL leader on more than one type of route. Jaxon Smith-Njigba led in all three.

Yes, looking for which player has the most receiving yards is an oversimplified way to evaluate nominees for an end-of-season award, but when you look at the year Jaxon Smith-Njigba had in full context, he is anything but the exception to the rule. He set multiple NFL records for efficiency while still accumulating a total volume of production that no other player achieved in their respective situations. That right there is why he is the clear and obvious choice for Offensive Player of the Year. JSN will be Seattle's first and only wide receiver to win the award, making history for the franchise in only his third year in the NFL.

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Caelan Thomas
CAELAN THOMAS