Jaxon Smith-Njigba put together one of the most productive pass-catching seasons in NFL history in 2025 while helping the Seahawks win a Super Bowl, so it's no surprise that he is viewed as one of the very best in the league at what he does by NFL coaches and talent evaluators.
Smith-Njigba, the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year, checked in at No. 3 among receivers in ESPN’s annual rankings, which are voted on by NFL coaches, scouts and executives. Nick Emmanwori, who had a standout rookie season as a versatile chess piece in Mike Macdonald's offense, ranked sixth among safeties. Fellow safety Julian Love did not make the top 10 but was in the "also receiving votes" category.
Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards, was one of three receivers to appear on every ballot, and is behind Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase and Minnesota's Justin Jefferson in the rankings.
"He reminds me so much of Cooper Kupp's tremendous performance in 2021, only JSN is better on the outside than him," an NFL coordinator told ESPN. "Love his game. Relentless. Smooth. Competitor. He's not the elite outside player those top guys are."
Despite missing almost four full games at the start of the season due to an ankle injury, Emmanwori still was able to pile up 81 tackles, 11 passes defensed, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and an interception, and his ability to do so many different things in the defense, ranging from run defense to pass rushing to pass coverage, was a key to Seattle's success on that side of the ball.
"Major upside," an NFL coordinator told ESPN. "He's so impressive for where he is at such a young age. He's got all the physical measurables."
Last week, Leonard Williams was ranked No. 1 among defensive tackles in ESPN’s survey, while Devon Witherspoon ranked fourth at cornerback.
Check out photos of the Seahawks 53-man roster for the 2026 season.
This is a 2026 photo of DeMarcus Lawrence of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (0)
This is a 2026 photo of Julian Neal of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Julian Neal (1)
This is a 2026 photo of Drew Lock of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2)
This is a 2026 photo of Nick Emmanwori of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3)
This is a 2026 photo of Michael Dickson of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4)
This is a 2026 photo of Jason Myers of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5)
This is a 2026 photo of Jalen Milroe of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6)
This is a 2025 photo of Uchenna Nwosu of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seattle Seahawks active roster as of June 9, 2025 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7)
This is a 2026 photo of Jadarian Price of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8)
This is a 2026 photo of Cooper Kupp of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10)
This is a 2026 photo of Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11)
This is a 2026 photo of Ernest Jones IV of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13)
This is a 2026 photo of Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14)
This is a 2026 photo of Tory Horton of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Tory Horton (15)
This is a 2026 photo of Elijah Arroyo of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo (18)
This is a 2026 photo of Julian Love of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks safety Julian Love (20)
This is a 2026 photo of Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21)
This is a 2026 photo of Rashid Shaheed of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22)
This is a 2026 photo of Emanuel Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23)
Seahawks cornerback Avery Smith (27).
Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Avery Smith (36) runs during an NFL preseason football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Inglewood, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
This is a 2026 photo of Nehemiah Pritchett of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28)
This is a 2026 photo of Josh Jobe of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29)
This is a 2026 photo of Drake Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (32)
This is a 2026 photo of George Holani of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks running back George Holani (36)
This is a 2026 photo of Brady Russell of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks fullback Brady Russell (38)
This is a 2026 photo of Ty Okada of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39)
This is a 2026 photo of Chris Stoll of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks long snapper Chris Stoll (41)
This is a 2026 photo of Chazz Surratt of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Chazz Surratt (44)
This is a 2026 photo of Tyrice Knight of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48)
This is a 2026 photo of Patrick OíConnell of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell (52)
This is a 2026 photo of Olu Oluwatimi of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks center Olu Oluwatimi (55)
This is a 2026 photo of Dante Fowler of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. (56)
This is a 2026 photo of Connor OíToole of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Connor O'Toole (57)
This is a 2026 photo of Derick Hall of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58)
This is a 2026 photo of Jalen Sundell of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61)
This is a 2026 photo of Christian Haynes of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Christian Haynes (64)
This is a 2026 photo of Charles Cross of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tackle Charles Cross (67)
This is a 2026 photo of Beau Stephens of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Beau Stephens (70)
This is a 2026 photo of Abraham Lucas of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72)
This is a 2026 photo of Josh Jones of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tackle Josh Jones (74)
This is a 2026 photo of Anthony Bradford of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford (75)
This is a 2026 photo of Grey Zabel of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (76)
This is a 2026 photo of Bryce Cabeldue of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Bryce Cabeldue (77)
This is a 2026 photo of Eric Saubert of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end Eric Saubert (81)
This is a 2026 photo of Montorie Foster of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. (87)
This is a 2026 photo of A.J. Barner of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88)
This is a 2026 photo of Nick Kallerup of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end Nick Kallerup (89)
This is a 2024 photo of Jarran Reed of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seahawks active roster as of June 10, 2024 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed (90)
This is a 2026 photo of Byron Murphy II of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91)
This is a 2026 photo of Mike Morris of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive end Mike Morris (94)
This is a 2026 photo of Brandon Pili of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Pili (95)
This is a 2026 photo of Rylie Mills of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills (98)
This is a 2024 photo of Leonard Williams of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seahawks active roster as of June 10, 2024 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99)
