JSN Barely Cracks into Top Five of Good Morning Football's Rankings

The offseason is long, which means there will be lots of time for player rankings. Although the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champs, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, is getting some disrespect already.

On Good Morning Football, the analysts discussed their top five wide receivers in the league. JSN got some slight, non-directed disrespect by some of the analysts on the show, particularly from Manti Te’o and Isaiah Stanback.

JSN gets some disrespect from Te’o and Stanbuck

JSN is coming off one of the best single-season performances among wide receivers in NFL history. In 17 games, he caught 119 receptions for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the three playoff games, JSN caught 17 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns. There were points during the season when JSN was on pace to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving yards record.

That level of high-caliber, explosive playmaking wasn’t enough to impress Te’o or Johnson despite being named a top-five receiver. Johnson had JSN at No. 5, just below Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua at No. 4, and then some veterans in Justin Jefferson, Ceedee Lamb, and Ja’Marr Chase.

To make matters worse, Te’o had JSN at No. 5 following Lamb, Jefferson, Nacua, and then Chase. It might be fair to rank Lamb, Jefferson, and Chase higher than JSN, but ranking Nacua higher than him is stunning. Te’o had Nacua as high as No. 2 despite the lack of overall success that JSN has.

JSN has accumulated more yards than Nacua on fewer receptions. He also has nine 100-yard receiving games compared to Nacua’s six 100-yard receiving games. Finally, JSN did this with Sam Darnold at quarterback as opposed to Nacua, who has a much more established and older quarterback in Matthew Stafford, who is the reigning league MVP. Puka will always get the recognition because of the LA-brand and the team he plays for.

One analyst gives JSN credit

Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba makes a touchdown catch in the NFC Championship Game. — Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) makes a catch to score a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

There was one analyst who gave JSN some credit as the top receiver in the league. Isaac Rochell had JSN at No. 1, Amon-Ra St. Brown at No. 2, Chase at No. 3, Nacua at No. 4, and former Seahawk D.K. Metcalf at No. 5. While it is questionable to put Metcalf in the top five, the rest of the list is understandable. Nacua didn’t have many elite performances with the Rams. Lamb had a down year, while the other pass-catcher George Pickens was the star for the Dallas Cowboys.

Overall, Rochell knows that JSN wasn’t thrown by an elite quarterback, even though Darnold has properly inserted himself as a top ten quarterback. JSN also shined brightly on some of the big stages. He wasn’t just one of the most explosive players in the league; he was also among the most clutch. He made clutch extend catches to extend late drives and then the big touchdowns when needed the most.

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