The NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY) Award is among the league’s most prestigious honors, recognizing the top offensive rookie each season. The winner is announced at the annual NFL Honors ceremony held during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
List of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Winners
The NFL has been giving out the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award since 1957, when it was originally known simply as Rookie of the Year. In 1967, the league split the honor into separate offensive and defensive awards.
Legendary Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns captured the inaugural award. Since then, many recipients have gone on to enjoy Hall of Fame careers, cementing the award’s place as a marker of future greatness.
Winning OROY is a significant accomplishment for any young player entering the league, highlighting just how difficult the transition to the NFL can be during a rookie season.
Among all positions, running backs have adapted most successfully, accounting for a dominant 38 OROY wins since the award’s inception. Wide receivers rank second with 12 wins. Quarterbacks, however, have claimed the award just 12 times, underscoring how challenging it is for rookie QBs to step in and excel immediately.
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
- 2024 – Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
