Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
On Sunday the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs won their conference championship games, setting up their second Super Bowl meeting in the last three seasons. Unfortunately for Buckeye fans, there is only one former Ohio State player on the rosters of both teams. Parris Campbell plays for Philadelphia, but he hasn’t played much this season, only registering six catches, with his last reception coming back in late September.
Since there is only one Buckeye rostered by the teams in the Super Bowl, today we are going to celebrate the performances of some of the other Ohio State players in the National Football League. What we want to know is which former Buckeye had the best season. With the amount of Ohio State alums in the league, there are plenty of excellent options. Quarterback C.J. Stroud led the Houston Texans to the Divisional Round for the second straight year. Running back J.K. Dobbins had a bounce-back year after missing a good portion of last year due to injury. Then there are the numerous wide receivers and defensive standouts the school has placed in the league.
Today’s question: Who was your Ohio State MVP in the NFL this season?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Terry McLaurin
Since he was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Terry McLaurin has been a model of consistency for the Washington Commanders. McLaurin has not only played in all 17 regular season games in each of the last four seasons, but the wide receiver from Indianapolis has caught between 77 and 82 passes in each of those seasons, registering at least 1,000 yards in five of his first six professional seasons.
This season McLaurin was rejuvenated by the addition of quarterback Jayden Daniels after what seemed like a revolving door of signal callers behind center for the Commanders over the last few seasons. Not only did McLaurin haul in a career-high 13 touchdown passes during the regular season, he was voted to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. As one of the top quarterback-wide receiver combinations in the NFL this year, Washington made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game before losing to Philadelphia.
With how many great receivers Ohio State has put in the NFL over the last few years, it takes a lot of hard work to be the best receiver of the bunch. While arguments can be made that Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a breakout season, the impact that McLaurin had on the Washington offense was even more important this season. Even though there might be wide receivers who put up bigger numbers than McLaurin, “Scary Terry” is one of the most feared receivers in the league right now because the threat is there for him to burn opponents on almost any play.
Matt’s answer: Joe Burrow
I respect and appreciate Brett’s pick, but let’s be honest, the NFL MVP is a quarterback award. The last time a QB didn’t win the award was in 2012 when running back Adrian Peterson took home the honor. In fact, in the 21st Century, only three non-QBs have won NFL MVP — running backs Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Shaun Alexander.
So, I love Scary Terry, but I have to go with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback — and former Buckey legend — Joe Burrow. The college national champion winning signal-caller finished the regular season with 4,918 yards passing, 43 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions. He completed 70.6% of his passes and averaged 289.3 yards passing per game.
Burrow led the league in passing yards, passing yards per game, passing touchdowns, and passes attempted and completed. He was third in the league in passer rating, fourth in completion percentage, and fifth in passes intercepted percentage. When it comes to counting stats, Ohio State icon Joe Burrow is by far at the top of the scarlet and gray-colored list.
The thing really holding him back from the actual NFL MVP award is that his team went 9-8 on the season and missed out on the playoffs for the second straight year. But when it comes to the Buckeye NFL MVP award, I think considering his stats and his position this is a no-brainer.
Now, you might argue that he shouldn’t actually count for this list, since he finished his college career at LSU, but he played for Ohio State and earned a degree from Ohio State, and I have been milking this bit for seven years, so I’m not giving up now!
Congrats on your 2025 “Former Ohio State Player in the NFL MVP” Award, Buckeye Joe!