Expert fantasy football mock drafts are officially dropping now that the 2026 NFL preseason has wrapped up, and our guy Jaxon Smith-Njigba is front and center. JSN is showing up as a first-round pick across multiple expert mocks from ESPN and FanSided, which is just massive for the Seahawks and for us 12s. It feels like the fantasy world is finally recognizing the talent we already knew was here in Seattle.
The First Round Is Set, And JSN Is In It
Let’s talk about these first rounds, because they tell a story. In the two 12-team ESPN and FanSided mocks, plus the top 12 picks from a 10-team ESPN mock, there’s some clear agreement. If you’re hoping to snag Jahmyr Gibbs or Bijan Robinson, you better have one of the first two picks in hand, plain and simple. What’s cool is despite those disagreements on the top two order, the first-round values are pretty well defined. All three draft boards agreed on 10 different players for the first round, showing a strong consensus.
But the real kicker for us? Jaxon Smith-Njigba is consistently in that first-round conversation! He went fourth in one of the ESPN 10-team mocks, seventh in an ESPN 12-teamer, and ninth in the FanSided mock. That’s a serious vote of confidence from the fantasy experts, putting him right up there with the league’s top talent. While some picks like De’Von Achane, Derrick Henry, Justin Jefferson, and Saquon Barkley showed up only once as first-rounders, JSN’s presence was undeniable across the board.
Quarterbacks Take a Backseat, Even Elite Ones
It’s wild how the fantasy world treats quarterbacks compared to their real-world importance. The general feeling among these experts is that spending a premium pick on an elite signal-caller just isn’t worth the opportunity cost. Most leagues only start one QB, and the thinking is the player pool is deep enough to find a serviceable starter much later.
Because of this, none of the mocks featured a quarterback taken in the top two rounds. Only FanSided’s mock had a quarterback crack the first three rounds, with Josh Allen going 25th overall. In ESPN’s 12-teamer, Allen didn’t come off the board until the 46th pick. To really drive home the position’s depth, managers didn’t even need a top-100 pick to grab QB12! The 12th quarterbacks taken were Patrick Mahomes at pick 120 (ESPN 12-teamer), Caleb Williams at 110 (ESPN 10-teamer), and Kyler Murray at 104 (FanSided).
Jayden Daniels Is the Wildcard Pick
Here’s where things get interesting, and why you should run through multiple mocks yourself. While there’s groupthink, there are always eye-catching deviations. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is the prime example here. In the two ESPN mocks, he was listed as QB2 and went in the fifth round, at picks 50 and 54. But over at FanSided? He dropped to QB5 and wasn’t picked until near the end of the sixth round at 69. That’s a huge swing for a potential starting QB.
These early mocks give us a taste of what’s to come. With the regular season right around the corner, we’ll see more of these projections. What’s at stake is not just your fantasy draft, but for us Seattle fans, it’s watching Jaxon Smith-Njigba continue to prove he belongs in that elite tier on the field, backing up all this early fantasy hype. You just know he’s ready to go.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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