Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t just crack the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2026 list - he landed in the top five, and he did it as the highest-ranked wide receiver on the board.
The Seahawks star came in at No. 5, making his first appearance on the annual ranking and giving Seattle its latest Top 10 entry. Smith-Njigba joins Russell Wilson at No. 2 in 2020, Richard Sherman at No. 7 in 2014 and Marshawn Lynch at No. 9 in 2015 as the only Seahawks ever to reach that tier.
Seattle had only two players on this year’s list before Smith-Njigba was revealed: linebacker Ernest Jones IV at No. 97 and quarterback Sam Darnold at No. 21. The four players ahead of Smith-Njigba, in no particular order, are Bijan Robinson, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford and Myles Garrett.
When the final Top 10 players were unveiled on August 21, Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua checked in at No. 7, but Smith-Njigba still had the clearest case to sit above him and claim the top spot among receivers.
That kind of placement makes sense after the season he just put together. With DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett gone, Smith-Njigba stepped into the lead role and turned it into a monster year: 119 catches, a league-high 1,793 receiving yards and the Offensive Player of the Year award.
The production came with a payoff, too. Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6 million extension, which made him the highest paid wide receiver in league history.
And while the Seahawks may have had other players who felt overlooked - Leonard Williams, Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori among them - Smith-Njigba had no trouble getting his due.
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