> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Analysis: Debating Seahawks’ Rankings on ESPN Top 10 Lists - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/debating-seattle-seahawks-rankings-espn-top-10-lists-2026/ - Published: 2026-07-17T17:20:46.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:47:47.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Ernest Jones, Devon Witherspoon, Leonard Williams, Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, AJ Barner, Nick Emmanwori, Byron Murphy II \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2864"\] ![ Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) tackles Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz (86) during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27378998-format-original.jpg) Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) tackles Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz (86) during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images \[/caption\] During the agonizing buffer period between the conclusion of offseason programs and the start of training camp during June and July, the annual arrival of NFL ranking season comes full force to help fill the gap for football fans. Among the most notable rankings to be revealed each year, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler unleashes a top-10 list for 11 positional groups on offense and defense, using polls of select executives, coaches, and scouts to compile the rankings. The changes from year-to-year can be a fascinating case study in itself, seeing how opinions of certain players change over time with the rankings being predicated on the best players at each position in the present. Interestingly, after winning Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks only had four players who landed top-10 spots at their respective positions. In contrast, nine other teams had five or more players who received such distinction, including the Lions with a league-high nine players who made the annual lists and the NFC West rival 49ers and Rams each having five apiece. Looking at this year’s top-10 rankings provided courtesy of Fowler and ESPN, did those who placed votes get it right with the defending champions? Or did they miss the mark with several deserving players? Here’s a look at which Seahawks may have been ranked too high, which ones didn’t garner enough respect, and which ones landed just right in the “sweet spot” at their respective positions: ### Too High **Devon Witherspoon (4th)** In many regards, Witherspoon provides the impact of a top-three corner in the league, with his contributions often transcending what a box score may indicate in terms of value. Even at under 190 pounds, he hits like an inside linebacker and dishes out body blows better than any other player at his position, especially when slid inside to the nickel spot where he can mix it up more as a run defender closer to the line of scrimmage. He’s also an elite blitzer who creates a major matchup problem for teams when sent as an extra rusher, evidenced most recently with his heroics in Super Bowl LX hitting Drake Maye’s arm on a fourth quarter throw and creating a pick-six opportunity for teammate Uchenna Nwosu to ice the game. With that said, while I personally view this ranking as in the right ballpark, Witherspoon’s lack of interceptions - he only has two of them in three NFL seasons - stands out as a prime reason why it may be a bit premature for some in league circles to have him sitting this high on the list with several players behind him who have had more success generating turnovers. Built with a lean frame that leaves him more vulnerable given his physical play style, he also has had moderate issues staying healthy, missing eight games due to injury since entering the league. There’s certainly reasons to argue for his inclusion as a top three or four cornerback in the league and he has consistently delivered the goods in clutch moments, but a breakout season in the pick department would go a long way towards solidifying his standing with such a lofty ranking three years into his career. ### Too Low **Ernest Jones (Unranked)** There may not be a more unfairly undervalued player in the league than Jones, who has been a top-10 linebacker for the past three years running but can’t seem to get the respect outside of the Seattle market he rightfully deserves. One of the true glue guys for Mike Macdonald’s defense, he turned in a spectacular first full season with the Seahawks, racking up 126 tackles and intercepting five passes, the most by an off-ball linebacker in the league last year. Those numbers propelled him to the first All-Pro selection of his career, so from that standpoint, at least the voters who determine major awards took notice of his outstanding performance as a key member of the No. 1 scoring defense. That’s what made the fact Jones wasn’t even listed as honorable mention on ESPN’s annual top-10 rankings so baffling and mind-boggling. How does one of the top four linebackers as voted by the Associated Press not even make the top 14 players in his position group? And how is he sitting behind the likes of Quay Walker and DeMarvion Overshown, two talented players who have not been near as productive and/or have missed extensive time from injuries? Anything outside of the top five for Jones would have been laughable, so seeing that he received such minimal votes from people who are supposed to be experts on the game is flat out preposterous and casts real questions about the credibility of these rankings. **Byron Murphy II (Unranked)** Since Murphy had a relatively quiet rookie season - at least statistically with only half a sack and two quarterback hits - compared to high expectations as an incoming first round pick, and he has a dominant teammate in Leonard Williams sitting at the top of the rankings, this omission doesn’t feel like near the slight that Jones’ does. He’s in a crowded position group where his impact may not always draw the attention it should because of the talent around him and the sheer quality of players at the position currently. Still, the numbers and film back up the claim that he should have been alongside Williams as a top-10 selection, as the Seahawks had the best one-two interior punch at wreaking havoc in the entire league. For one, Murphy joined Williams as the only pair of defensive line teammates to surpass 50 quarterback pressures and seven sacks in 2025\. The duo also dominated defending the run, including the rising second-year star tallying 25 run stops and exceeding a 9% run stop rate to rank in the top 14 in both categories among defensive tackles. A force to reckon with in the middle splitting gaps off the snap as well as devouring single and combo blocks with his immense power, it can be argued he had as great of an impact as any player on the team’s success as the top run defense in yards per carry (3.7) last season. Adding in his breakout production harassing quarterbacks and the fact he won’t turn 24 years old until September, being an honorable mention candidate seems too low for an ascending talent. **AJ Barner (Unranked)** Stats-wise, Barner posted modest receiving production for the Seahawks in his second season, finishing 16th among tight ends in receptions (52), 20th in receiving yards (519), and 25th in yards per reception (10.0). Based on that collection of numbers, not making the top 10 or receiving honorable mention recognition would seem to have some validity. However, he tied for eighth in touchdowns (six) and reception rate (81.3%), proving to be money when targeted by Sam Darnold. He also elevated his game in the playoffs, snagging six out of seven targets for 67 yards and scoring Seattle’s only offensive touchdown in Super Bowl LX. But what makes Barner more than worthy of being listed as a significant snub on the top tight ends list is his contributions away from catching the football. A true Y-tight end who loves to mix it up as a blocker in the trenches, he played an NFL-high 708 snaps as an inline tight end, serving as a key ingredient in the team’s second half surge running the football that continued into postseason play. He also so came through nearly every time Seattle called a “Barnyard” quarterback sneak, putting him under center and turning 10 rush attempts into nine first downs and a touchdown for a 90% success rate, giving him added value that warrants inclusion as honorable mention at bare minimum. ### Sweet Spot **Leonard Williams (1st)** Many viewed Williams’ ascent to the top spot as one of the biggest surprises on this year’s top-10 rankings, but in reality, it’s about time that the rest of the football world caught on to the greatness of “Big Cat.” Long toiling in New York on bad football teams, he has had a tremendous resurgence playing in the Pacific Northwest, particularly after Mike Macdonald brought his scheme to town in 2024\. Over the past two seasons, while logging snaps at numerous alignments along the defensive front and regularly seeing double teams, he has produced more sacks (18) and quarterback hits (50) than any other defensive tackle in football, becoming a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. Williams hasn’t just been a thorn in the side for quarterbacks, however. He’s also been a consistent problem defending the run, posting 25 combined tackles for loss over the past two seasons, second behind only Titans star Jeffery Simmons among defensive linemen. Last season, along with being just outside the top 10 in run stops and run stop rate, he ranked ninth in average depth of tackle (1.9 yards), further illustrating his penchant for blowing up plays in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage. As far as being a complete package, it’s hard to argue for anyone else to be atop this list in the present, as No. 99 has been nothing short of utterly dominant. **Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3rd)** Transforming into one of the NFL’s biggest stars in 2025, Smith-Njigba busted out with a league-best 1,793 receiving yards and scored 10 touchdowns, becoming only the second Seahawk in franchise history to win Offensive Player of the Year honors while guiding the team to a Super Bowl win. On those numbers and accolades alone, many would have expected to see him ascend to the top of the receiver hierarchy on ESPN’s latest rankings and for others, being anywhere other than the top spot would be viewed as a slight. Nobody would have batted an eye if he jumped into the pole position after lighting up the rest of the league with a truly historic season. But at the same time, for as outstanding as Smith-Njigba was last season, there’s nothing wrong with JaMarr Chase and Justin Jefferson being the two players who outranked him. Chase has posted five straight 1,000-yard seasons to open his NFL career and still exceeded the 1,400-yard mark last season even with Joe Burrow missing most of the year injured. Jefferson had his worst season as a pro, also in large part due to major issues at the quarterback position, but still hit the century mark for a sixth straight season to begin his career. Considering both Chase and Jefferson have three or more seasons with 1,400-plus receiving yards and Smith-Njigba has just one, this feels just right pecking order-wise. **Nick Emmanwori (6th)** Taking the league by storm as a rookie, even with missing what amounted to almost four full games to open the year due to a high ankle sprain, the position-less Emmanwori wound up logging over 100 snaps in the slot, as a strong safety, and off the edge, providing extremely rare versatility. Regardless of where he lined up, he produced a bevy of impact plays, including leading all safeties with nine pass breakups and nine tackles for loss, per TruMedia. He also added 2.5 sacks and eclipsed the 80-tackle mark, stuffing the stat sheet across the board and continuing to play at a high level with four pass breakups in the postseason. On those merits alone, it would have been a travesty if Emmanwori didn’t vault into the top-10 safeties in his first opportunity to be considered for the rankings. At the same time, with only one season under his belt, it makes sense why he didn’t finish in the top five with the likes of Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James, and Xavier McKinney ahead of him. Like Witherspoon, not having much interception production may have played a role his ascent being stopped at sixth overall, while some of those who were polled had questions about his ceiling given the fact he didn’t play much deep safety for Macdonald’s unit. But at just 22 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to crash the party as a top-three safety, maybe even pushing for the top spot in quick order. **Sam Darnold (Unranked)** Playing the most prestigious position in professional sports, Darnold has enjoyed a rare career renaissance after being labeled as a bust coming out of a rough start to his career with the Jets and Panthers. Over the past two seasons in Minnesota and Seattle, his 60 touchdown passes rank fifth among NFL quarterbacks, while he sits in the top 10 among qualified signal callers in completion percentage (66.9%), passer rating (100.9), and passing yards (8,367). He also has been brilliant in the closing moments of games, orchestrating nine game winning drives and five fourth quarter comebacks, ranking in the top five in both categories since 2024. By virtue of his stats and clutch gene over the previous two seasons, Darnold has a pretty strong case for being included in the top 10 quarterbacks in the league right now. But finishing just outside of the top 10 isn’t anything to scoff at either, and with the exception of third-year players Drake Maye and Caleb Williams, who made the list as rapidly ascending stars in their own right, the other eight players who finished ahead of him simply have a longer body of work when it comes to elite-to-great play. He’s knocking on the doorstep and with another strong season for the Seahawks that includes another playoff run, there’s no question he will be in the top 10 this time a year from now.