The winner of the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY) is one of the most prestigious awards in the league and is won by the most outstanding offensive rookie each season. The winner is revealed at the annual NFL Honors ceremony during the week before the Super Bowl.
The step up from college to the NFL can be extremely difficult. It can be hard for players to adjust to the professional game, making the achievements of the OROY award winners even more merited.
Full List of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Winners
The NFL has handed out an OROY award since 1957, when it was just called Rookie of the Year. The NFL separated the award into offensive and defensive awards in 1967.
Legendary Cleveland Browns RB Jim Brown won the inaugural award. Since then, it has been won by some of the game’s greats who have gone on to have Hall of Fame careers.
It is a fantastic achievement for any young player just entering the NFL and recognizes just how challenging the NFL can be in a player’s first season.
One position that has been able to transition to the NFL better than any other, however, is running back. They have by far the most wins in the OROY category, bagging 38 wins since the award began. The position group with the second most wins is the wide receivers, who have taken the award home 12 times.
Surprisingly, quarterbacks only appear on the list 11 times, showing just how difficult it is for rookie QBs to step in and perform right away.
The first QB to win the award was Buffalo Bills rookie Dennis Shaw, who won in 1970. After Shaw, a QB didn’t win the award again until 2004, when Pittsburgh Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger was given the award.
The complete list of the Offensive Rookie of the Year winners is:
- 1957 – Jim Brown, RB, Cleveland Browns
- 1958 – Jimmy Orr, End, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1959 – Boyd Dowler, End, Green Bay Packers
- 1960 – Gail Cogdill, End, Detroit Lions
- 1961 – Mike Ditka, TE, Chicago Bears
- 1962 – Ron Bull, RB, Chicago Bears
- 1963 – Paul Flatley, End, Minnesota Vikings
- 1964 – Charley Taylor, RB, Washington Redskins
- 1965 – Gale Sayers, RB, Chicago Bears
- 1966 – Johnny Roland, RB, St. Louis Cardinals
- 1967 – Mel Farr, RB, Detroit Lions
- 1968 – Earl McCullouch, WR, Detroit Lions
- 1969 – Calvin Hill, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- 1970 – Dennis Shaw, QB, Buffalo Bills
- 1971 – John Brockington, RB, Green Bay Packers
- 1972 – Franco Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1973 – Chuck Foreman, RB, Minnesota Vikings
- 1974 – Don Woods, RB, San Diego Chargers
- 1975 – Mike Thomas, RB, Washington Redskins
- 1976 – Sammy White, WR, Minnesota Vikings
- 1977 – Tony Dorsett, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- 1978 – Earl Campbell, RB, Houston Oilers
- 1979 – Ottis Anderson, RB, St. Louis Cardinals
- 1980 – Billy Sims, RB, Detroit Lions
- 1981 – George Rogers, RB, New Orleans Saints
- 1982 – Marcus Allen, RB, Los Angeles Raiders
- 1983 – Eric Dickerson, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- 1984 – Louis Lipps, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1985 – Eddie Brown, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
- 1986 – Rueben Mayes, RB, New Orleans Saints
- 1987 – Troy Stradford, RB, Miami Dolphins
- 1988 – John Stephens, RB, New England Patriots
- 1989 – Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions
- 1990 – Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- 1991 – Leonard Russell, RB, New England Patriots
- 1992 – Carl Pickens, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
- 1993 – Jerome Bettis, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- 1994 – Marshall Faulk, RB, Indianapolis Colts
- 1995 – Curtis Martin, RB, New England Patriots
- 1996 – Eddie George, RB, Houston Oilers
- 1997 – Warrick Dunn, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 1998 – Randy Moss, WR, Minnesota Vikings
- 1999 – Edgerrin James, RB, Indianapolis Colts
- 2000 – Mike Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos
- 2001 – Anthony Thomas, RB, Chicago Bears
- 2002 – Clinton Portis, RB, Denver Broncos
- 2003 – Anquan Boldin, WR, Arizona Cardinals
- 2004 – Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 2005 – Cadillac Williams, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 2006 – Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans
- 2007 – Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
- 2008 – Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
- 2009 – Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings
- 2010 – Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis Rams
- 2011 – Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
- 2012 – Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington Redskins
- 2013 – Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers
- 2014 – Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants
- 2015 – Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams
- 2016 – Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
- 2017 – Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
- 2018 – Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
- 2019 – Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
- 2020 – Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
- 2021 – Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
- 2022 – Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
- 2023 – C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!