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Seahawks Announce Jaxon Smith-Njigba Award Amid NFL Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Jan 31, 2026 12:34 PM ET

Coming into Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, very few NFL players can say they have had a better 2025 season than Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

In his third season out of Ohio State , Smith-Njigba formed an immediate connection with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, putting up 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season.

Smith-Njigba put an exclamation mark on his AP first-team All-Pro and PWFA Offensive Player of the Year honors with a stat line of 10 catches, 153 yards and one touchdown in a 31-27 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game last Sunday.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) is interviewed after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFC Championship Game.Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

“It’s a dream come true honestly,” Smith-Njigba said after his standout performance helped the Seahawks get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015. "I'm just super grateful and super in the moment."

More honors came his way after the dominant showing against the Rams. The Seahawks shared a joint Instagram post on Friday announcing Smith-Njigba as the winner of Nickelodeon's NVP award for conference championship week.

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As part of its broadcast partnership with the NFL, Nickelodeon announces the winner of the performance-based award each week on "NFL Slimetime." Weekly winners from this season included New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Cam Skattebo, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett.

The NFL hands out its own weekly awards for AFC and NFC players of the week, but they stop after Week 18. Smith-Njigba has never won NFC Offensive Player of the Week in the regular season, but his performance last Sunday earned him the coveted NVP trophy — the lone weekly award on offer during the postseason.

Smith-Njigba will play for a much bigger prize against the Patriots on Feb 8. at Levi's Stadium. He is listed by FanDuel at +600 to win Super Bowl MVP, the third-best odds behind the two starting quarterbacks, Darnold (+110) and New England's Drake Maye (+230).

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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