There’s little that Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t do last year, from setting franchise records to leading the league in receiving yards on his way to Offensive Player of the Year. With the ranking portion of the offseason fully in swing, we’re finally getting to see how the rest of the league thinks of the Seahawks’ star.
As it turns out, posting 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns on 119 catches lifts him into conversations with the best. At least that’s according to an ESPN
survey of NFL scouts, executives and coaches, which ranked Smith-Njigba as the third-best wide receiver in the NFL heading into 2026, behind only Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase and ahead of division rival Puka Nacua.
It’s quite a jump for JSN, who was unranked in the list last year, and did receive No. 1 rankings. ESPN reporter and author of the article, Jeremy Fowler, also said that Smith-Njigba was one of three wideouts who was ranked on every single list.
Those who complimented Smith-Njigba’s game called him “relentless,” “smooth” and “super talented.” He even drew comparisons to his teammate Cooper Kupp’s legendary 2021 season from an unnamed NFL coordinator.
However, respondents to the survey weren’t all so high on the reigning offensive player of the year. One voter ranked JSN as the seventh-best wide receiver in the league, which would have put him below names like Puka Nacua, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
In his article, Fowler said that numerous responses from voters said that JSN didn’t scare them as much as other pass catchers in the league because of his lack of size. One AFC executive was quick to point to JSN’s prior usage, saying he couldn’t rank him as the best because this was the first year he’s played as an outside receiver.
“If he does it again and plays well, he can jump to the top,” the executive said in Fowler’s survey.
Only time will tell if he’s able to replicate his magical season from a year ago under new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury and in a league that knows what he’s capable of. One thing is for certain, though, Smith-Njigba still has a few critics to silence before he earns the respect of the NFL as a whole.
For what it’s worth, JSN took top spot in the AP poll.
