Chargers superstar safety Derwin James Jr. lands at No. 50 on the NFL top 100 list.
James is ranked four spots higher than last season, when he was ranked No. 54 entering the 2025 season.
Last week, James was named the second-best safety entering the season on ESPN’s annual rankings by coaches, scouts and executives.
As the former Florida State Seminole gets set to enter his eighth season in the league, he is set for another incredible season. The 29-year-old is coming off another All-Pro season in which he recorded 94 total tackles, six tackles for loss, three interceptions he returned for 28 yards, seven passes defended, two sacks and one forced fumble.
James is as elite as they come, and no one realizes that more than future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack.
“It’s a dope thing to see a guy, not just a football player, but the guy that he is off the field,” Mack said about James earlier this offseason. “One of the greatest teammates I’ve ever played with from a standpoint of the man, how he treats people how he wants to be treated and how he carries himself.
“He carries himself like that every day, the energy is positive, it’s infectious throughout the building,” Mack added. “You want to keep a guy like Derwin in every building, I’m sure any team in the NFL will want to keep him for a lifetime.”
James, the former first-round pick, signed a massive three-year, $75.6 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.
The deal features a $25.2 million average annual salary and $57.5 million in guaranteed money. The contract runs through the 2029 season, and James and the Chargers will look for their best season yet in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Where Chargers’ Derwin James ranks among top 100 NFL players of 2026
Reporting by Ricardo Sandoval , Chargers Wire / Chargers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ricardo Sandoval , Chargers Wire | USA TODAY Network
