Former Ohio State players made their mark on the NFL once again during the 2025-26 season.
No one in the entire NFL had a better year than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had one of the greatest seasons ever for a former Ohio State player on his way to winning the NFL’s receiving title, NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors and the Super Bowl.
Cameron Heyward and Chris Olave joined Smith-Njigba in earning All-Pro honors. Former Buckeye defensive linemen Chase Young and Tommy Togiai had career years while Joey Bosa had a resurgent season with the Buffalo Bills. Denzel Ward made his fifth Pro Bowl while TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka – among other Buckeyes in the 2025 NFL draft class – became immediate stars in their rookie seasons.
With the 2025-26 NFL season now complete, we’re counting down the Buckeyes who had the best years in the league, starting with some honorable mentions before ranking the top 10. Players were ranked based on the totality of their performance between the NFL’s regular season and playoffs, and the list only includes players who finished their college careers at Ohio State.
Honorable Mentions
- Dre’Mont Jones, OLB, Baltimore Ravens: Despite being traded midseason from the Tennessee Titans to the Baltimore Ravens, Jones had one of the best seasons of his NFL career in 2025. In a rare 18 regular-season games across two teams, Jones made a big impact as a pass rusher, recording seven sacks and 24 quarterback hits, tied for the 11th-most among all NFL players in 2025.
- Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns: Judkins immediately emerged as the Browns’ top running back as a rookie, running for 827 yards and seven touchdowns on 230 carries and catching 26 passes for 171 yards in 14 games. Even though his season was cut short by a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula, Judkins finished with the third-most rushing yards among all rookies.
- Ronnie Hickman, S, Cleveland Browns: Hickman led all former Ohio State players with 103 tackles during the 2025 NFL season. He also had two interceptions and seven passes defensed for a Browns defense that ranked third in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game and fourth in the league in total yards per game.
- Denzel Burke, CB, Arizona Cardinals: Despite falling to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, Burke had an excellent rookie season for the Cardinals. Burke started eight games and limited opponents to 34 catches for 410 yards and three touchdowns on more than 400 coverage snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He led all rookie cornerbacks with three interceptions and tied for the lead among all rookies with 11 passes defensed, both the most among all former Ohio State players in the NFL in 2025.
10. Jonathon Cooper, OLB, Denver Broncos
Regular Season: 50 tackles, 8 TFL, 8 sacks, 4 PD, 1 QB hits
Playoffs: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 2 QB hits (2 games)
The Broncos had the NFL’s best pass rush in 2025, and Cooper was a big reason why. In addition to recording eight regular-season sacks himself, Cooper had 57 quarterback pressures (per Pro Football Focus), helping his teammates also get to the quarterback as Denver led the NFL with 68 total sacks while finishing second in the league with only 278.2 yards allowed per game.
A seventh-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Cooper has now had at least 50 tackles and eight sacks in three straight seasons, establishing himself as a cornerstone of the Broncos’ defensive front.
9. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Regular Season: 63 catches, 938 yards, 6 TD
Egbuka started his NFL career in spectacular fashion, catching 25 passes for 445 yards and five touchdowns in the Buccaneers’ first five games to emerge as the clear early frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
As the Buccaneers struggled in the second half of the season, losing eight of their final 11 games, Egbuka’s production dropped sharply. Nevertheless, Egbuka still finished second among all rookies with 938 receiving yards and tied for second among rookies with six touchdown catches. He ranked fifth among all NFL receivers in 2025 with 20 catches that went for 20-plus yards.
With Mike Evans entering the twilight of his NFL career and set to hit free agency this offseason, Egbuka has already established himself as the Buccaneers’ No. 1 receiver and as one of many NFL stars at his position from Ohio State.
8. TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots
Regular Season: 178 carries, 914 yards, 9 TD; 35 catches, 221 yards, 1 TD; 9 KR, 209 yards
Playoffs: 30 carries, 76 yards; 5 catches, 33 yards; 1 KR, 38 yards (4 games)
Henderson also emerged as an immediate star in his NFL rookie season, finishing third in the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year voting after totaling 1,344 all-purpose yards and scoring 10 touchdowns during the regular season despite seeing limited playing time in the first two months of the year.
The former Buckeye running back broke out in the second half of the season with four multi-touchdown games, including games against the Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills in which Henderson had two touchdown runs of 50-plus yards – becoming just the third player in NFL history to have two 50-yard touchdown runs in multiple games for an entire career. His four 50-yard touchdown runs led the entire NFL for the 2025 season.
.@TreVeyonH4 IS STILL RUNNING
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 9, 2025
CBS pic.twitter.com/0PrhqW5xrQ
Henderson’s playmaking throughout the season helped lead the Patriots to the AFC championship and an appearance in the Super Bowl. Inconsistent usage and production over the course of the season prevented Henderson from ranking higher on this list, but few players – let alone rookies – had more spectacular highs than Henderson during the 2025 season.
7. Denzel Ward, CB, Cleveland Browns
Regular Season: 39 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 9 PD
Ward continued to be one of the NFL’s elite cornerbacks in 2025, earning a Pro Bowl selection for the third straight year and the fifth time overall in eight NFL seasons.
Per PFF, Ward allowed fewer receiving yards against his coverage than any previous season in his NFL career, limiting opponents to 32 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns on 54 targets.
His effectiveness in coverage played a major role in the Browns holding opponents to only 167.2 passing yards per game, the third-best mark in the NFL this season. And his selection as a Pro Bowler for the third straight year speaks to the respect he commands from players and coaches throughout the NFL.
6. Joey Bosa, DE, Buffalo Bills
Regular Season: 29 tackles, 9 TFL, 5 sacks, 5 FF, 2 PD, 16 QB hits
Playoffs: 3 tackles, 1 QB hit (2 games)
In his first year with the Bills after he was released by the Los Angeles Chargers, Bosa had his best season in four years.
Plagued by injuries in his latter years with the Chargers, Bosa played 15 regular-season games in 2025 – his most since 2021 – and led the entire NFL with five forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus gave Bosa a grade of 88.7 on pass-rush snaps, the seventh-best grade among all NFL edge defenders in 2025.
His efforts leading the pass rush in tandem with fellow Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau helped Buffalo lead the entire NFL with only 156.9 passing yards allowed per game.
5. Tommy Togiai, DT, Houston Texans
Regular Season: 59 tackles, 6 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 4 PD, 1 FR, 5 QB hits, 1 TD
Playoffs: 13 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FF (2 games)
Togiai was the most unforeseen star among NFL players from Ohio State in 2025.
A practice-squad player for most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons until the Texans added him to their active roster in November 2024, Togiai emerged as one of the NFL’s most productive defensive tackles in 2025. His 59 tackles were the ninth-most among defensive tackles during the regular season. He became more and more impactful as the year progressed, scoring his first career touchdown on a fumble recovery in the Texans’ regular-season finale and forcing his first career fumble as part of an eight-tackle day in the Texans’ final game of the season, a divisional-round playoff loss to the Patriots.
With Togiai helping lead the way in the middle of the defensive front, Houston led the NFL in both points (17.4) and yards (277.2) allowed per game for the 2025 season.
4. Chase Young, DE, New Orleans Saints
Regular Season: 38 tackles, 11 TFL, 10 sacks, 4 PD, 2 FF, 3 FR, 15 QB hits, 1 TD
Young’s first five NFL seasons after going No. 2 overall in the 2020 NFL draft didn’t live up to the hype, but in 2025, “The Predator” showed the form that once made him the best defensive player in college football.
In just 12 games after missing the start of the season with a calf injury, Young recorded a career-high 10 sacks. Those included a pair of strip sacks, one of which he turned into a touchdown by stealing the ball directly out of Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward’s hands and running the ball 33 yards to the end zone for a score.
CHASE YOUNG TO THE HOUSE!!! @OhioStateFB | : FOX pic.twitter.com/dvmHj8GEjq
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 28, 2025
Per Pro Football Focus, Young had a pass-rush productivity score of 11.4, the fourth-highest score among NFL edge defenders who played at least 200 pass-rush snaps in 2025, with 49 total quarterback pressures on just 285 pass-rush plays. He was the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for the final month of the regular season after finishing the year with 19 tackles, six tackles for loss, five sacks, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup in the Saints’ final five games.
3. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
Regular Season: 100 catches, 1,163 yards, 9 TD
After suffering a season-ending concussion in 2024 that led him to contemplate retirement, Olave bounced back for a career year in 2025.
Olave caught 100 passes for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns, all career-highs, to rank among the NFL’s top nine players in all three categories. Olave was particularly productive after Tyler Shough took over as the Saints’ starting quarterback for the second half of the season, catching 48 passes for 660 yards and six touchdowns in his final eight games of the year before missing the Saints’ season-ending loss to the Atlanta Falcons due to a blood clot in his lung.
Olave earned All-Pro honors for the first time in his career as he was named a second-team NFL All-Pro by the Associated Press.
2. Cameron Heyward, DT, Pittsburgh Steelers
Regular Season: 78 tackles, 9 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 6 PD, 9 QB hits
Playoffs: 3 tackles (1 game)
The ageless Cameron Heyward was as elite as he’s ever been in 2025. In his 15th NFL season, the 36-year-old former Ohio State defensive lineman led all NFL defensive tackles during the regular season with 78 total tackles, his fifth season with more than 70 tackles in the last seven years.
Pro Football Focus graded Heyward as the best defensive tackle in the entire NFL for 2025 with an overall grade of 90.4, the sixth-highest grade among all NFL defenders for the season. He earned second-team AP All-Pro honors, marking the sixth time since 2017 that he’s earned All-Pro status.
A captain for the 11th straight year, Heyward led the Steelers to their first AFC North title in five years and their third consecutive playoff appearance. A future Pro Football Hall of Famer, Heyward earned the No. 2 spot on our list of Ohio State’s top NFL players of the season for the second year in a row.
At 36 years old, Cameron Heyward was still one of the NFL’s elite defensive linemen in 2026. (Photo: Charles LeClaire – Imagn Images)
1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Regular Season: 119 catches, 1,793 yards, 10 TD; 7 carries, 36 yards
Playoffs: 17 catches, 199 yards, 2 TD (3 games)
While there’s plenty of room for debate on the rest of these rankings, there’s no question whatsoever who the NFL’s best player from Ohio State was in 2025. The only debate about Smith-Njigba’s season is whether it ranks as the best NFL season ever for a player from Ohio State.
Smith-Njigba was the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the second Buckeye ever to win that award (Michael Thomas in 2019). He led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards, the eighth-most-ever by an individual player in an NFL regular season. Best of all, Smith-Njigba led the Seahawks to an NFL championship, becoming just the sixth player to win NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors and the Super Bowl in the same season.
Considering both individual and team success, no NFL player had a better year in 2025 than Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Just three years into his NFL career, Smith-Njigba is now firmly established as one of the league’s elite players and biggest stars.
