Druski reveals if he has spoken with Jaxon Smith-Njigba after butchering WR's name at NFL Honors

Just days before the Seattle Seahawks squared off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year at NFL Honors. It was an honor that did not shock anyone.

Smith-Njigba had a phenomenal season for Seattle, hauling in 119 catches for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. His big moment, however, was overshadowed by comedian Druski‘s intentional mispronunciation of his name.

Along with backlash from Seattle fans, Druski received hate from sports fans who claimed that he tried to overshadow Smith-Njigba’s big moment. The comedian revealed during a sit-down with CBS Mornings that he tried reaching out to the star receiver, but did not hear back.

“I like to mess around, but sometimes you can go too far,” Druski said. “Congratulations to him, the team on the Super Bowl. I think that was an amazing thing. I didn’t get no response back, but I did reach out, I tried.”

Although Smith-Njigba was held to just four catches for 27 yards in the Super Bowl, Seattle came out on top with a 29-13 win. It marked the Seahawks’ second Super Bowl win in franchise history.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba accepted award virtually while preparing for Super Bowl

Smith-Njigba was not present at the show in which Druski‘s mispronunciation occurred, which took place at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. He, however, sent in a prerecorded message to be played following his win.

“Wow, what an honor,” Smith-Njigba said. “I want to first give all the glory to God. Second, I want to give it to my teammates. I want to thank y’all. I love y’all. You are who I do it for each and every week. I want to give this award to my father. Going into my last year (at Ohio State), he told me to pray for wisdom and I did. Before going into that season, I wanted to be a top-five Draft choice. I wanted to be a Heisman candidate and a bunch of things.

“Ultimately, I wasn’t able to play. With that time, I grew wise and figured out a lot about myself and who I wanted to do it for. Ultimately, I dropped to the 20th Draft pick, where I was selected by the Seattle Seahawks. I can’t thank everyone involved enough. Much love and have a great night.”

With the OPOY win, Smith-Njigba became the fourth different wide receiver to win the award in the 21st century (Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, and Michael Thomas.) He now has a Lombardi Trophy to go along with his OPOY trophy.