When the NFL released its annual Top 100 players list for the 2026 season this summer — a list voted on by the league’s players — it underscored how much talent in the NFL right now has connections to the state of Utah.
Seven of the league’s top 100 players on this year’s list played either high school or college football (or both) in the Beehive State.
Three of those players — Puka Nacua at No. 7, Penei Sewell at No. 37, and Garett Bolles at No. 42 — all grew up in the state and played high school football in Utah. Nacua and Bolles even played college ball at Utah colleges.
Then there are others who were college stars here as well — a list that includes Devin Lloyd at No. 27, Fred Warner at No. 54, Jordan Love at No. 72 and Bobby Wagner at No. 81.
For all the University of Utah, BYU and Utah State fans, there are players that previously put on their uniforms that are among the NFL’s best at their respective positions.
There were also 54 players with Utah ties who made it onto an initial 53-man roster after the NFL’s cutdown day at the end of August.
In other words, it’s a good time to be an NFL fan if you like Utah connections — even if the state doesn’t have a team to call its own (hint, hint, Ryan Smith).
That makes for plenty of interesting storylines involving Utah ties as the 2026 NFL season kicks off this week.
What will Puka Nacua do for an encore after a career year — and a turbulent offseason?
What a whirlwind of a year it has been for Puka Nacua, the former BYU and Orem High standout wide receiver.
He was a finalist for Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year honors after a career-best 2025 season when he led the NFL with 129 receptions for 1,715 receiving yards (second only to Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 1,793) and 10 touchdowns.
Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams were one of the league’s toughest teams a year ago — they made the NFC championship game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks — and are considered the odds-on favorite to win the NFL title this year.
If the Rams were to make the Super Bowl, it would be even sweeter, considering Super Bowl LXI will be held this year at their home, SoFi Stadium.
What will Nacua do for an encore after such an impressive 2025?
Of course, any discussion about the star receiver comes with an asterisk, due to some off-field troubles in recent months that led to Nacua seeking help at a rehab facility this offseason.
The primary thing to watch is what happens with his ongoing legal situation — in March, a Los Angeles woman filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Nacua “forcibly” bit her shoulder and made an “unprovoked antisemitic statement” during a New Year’s Eve outing, according to the court document obtained by ESPN.
While a judge recently set the date for that trial in March 2028, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the NFL is reviewing Nacua’s case and he could face suspension.
Nacua addressed the possibility of facing suspension earlier this week.
“I think, yeah, there’s definitely an emotion with some of the things,” Nacua said after practice Monday, according to the New York Post. “I’m just trying to handle that in the ways that I can and what’s in my control.
“But also having a realistic understanding of the consequences of some of the things that I put myself in this offseason.”
Will this rookie class of Utah ties have a major impact in 2026?
If you are a fan of the battle in the trenches, the 2026 NFL draft was a good one from a Utah perspective.
The University of Utah set a program benchmark in April when it had two first-round draft picks for the first time in school history.
It was the school’s bookend tackles — Spencer Fano, who went No. 9 overall to the Cleveland Browns, and Caleb Lomu, the No. 28 overall selection by the New England Patriots.
Fano, a Timpview High product, has earned the Browns’ starting left tackle job, a position he locked in mid-August after some intense training camp battles against edge rusher Jared Verse.
“Don’t you want to see a player, especially on the O-line, not back down? As your starting left tackle, all your hopes and dreams. The ability to move the football and protect, your left tackle to not back down against a Pro Bowler,” Browns coach Todd Monken said at the time, according to The Associated Press.
“You want to see the competition part; you want to see a guy not back down. If they don’t stand up for themselves, then you’re really concerned.”
Lomu, meanwhile, is New England’s top swing tackle and primary backup behind left tackle Will Campbell and right tackle Morgan Moses.
Lomu said the preparation doesn’t change for him, no matter whether he’s starting or coming off the bench.
“I know anything can happen out there on the field. These football injuries happen, and so I gotta be ready to do in whenever they need me,” Lomu said, according to Sports Illustrated. “If something happens, obviously we hope nothing happens to any of our players, but you know, it does happen sometimes.”
Four other players with Utah ties were also taken in the 2026 draft, including Browns tight end Carsen Ryan (BYU, Utah, Timpview and American Fork high schools), Denver Broncos tight end Dallen Bentley (Utah, Snow College, Taylorsville High), New York Giants linebacker Jack Kelly (BYU, Weber State, Kearns High) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Keionte Scott (Snow College).
Former Utah offensive lineman Tanoa Togiai also made the Washington Commanders’ initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie.
While Fano is the only one of this group assured to play a major role for his team at this point, it’s worth monitoring which of these rookies earn playing time as the season progresses.
Has the Super Bowl window passed for Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs?
Over a six-year span, it became commonplace to see the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl. From the 2019 season through 2024, head coach Andy Reid led the Chiefs to the NFL’s championship game five times, with three victories.
The 2025 season, though, brought a full range of adversity for Kansas City — and it resulted in a 6-11 campaign. That included losing starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL in Week 15, though the Chiefs had gone 6-8 before his injury.
It’s fair to wonder if the formula for Kansas City is fading — Mahomes is coming off a major injury, tight end Travis Kelce is 36 going into the 2026 season and other franchises are catching up in the AFC West.
Take, for example, the Chiefs’ Week 1 opponent, the Denver Broncos. Last season, the Broncos won the AFC West with a 14-3 record and advanced to the AFC Championship Game — all behind a young, up-and-coming quarterback in Bo Nix.
While it wasn’t that long ago that Kansas City had the winning formula, is Father Time going to foil the Chiefs’ plans again this season, or can Reid — the former BYU player and graduate assistant — continue to find ways to make his team one of the best in the NFL once again?
Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt threw a vote of confidence behind Reid at the start of training camp.
“I just think Andy’s a special coach,” Hunt said, according to Sports Illustrated. “He’s a Hall of Fame coach. He has an incredible staff — we got to hear from Spags (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) today, who’s one of the best in the business.
“I’m very optimistic that the team’s going to bounce back, but there’s a lot that goes into it. It starts here at training camp.”
Will Jaxson Dart and Jordan Love lead their respective teams to the postseason?
In this space last year, one of the top Utah-based storylines to follow for the 2025 season was whether then-rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart would play as a first-year signal caller.
Turns out, the former Corner Canyon and Roy High star did, as the Giants, who made Dart a first-round draft pick, went with their rookie after just three games.
Dart replaced veteran Russell Wilson and started 12 games for New York a year ago, going 4-8 as a starter. He ended his rookie campaign completing 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while also rushing for 487 yards and nine touchdowns.
Though the Giants finished last season 4-13 and haven’t made the postseason since 2022, Dart has aspirations to break that playoff drought — and more — in his sophomore campaign.
Dart was in San Antonio in June when the New York Knicks wrapped up their first NBA Finals championship in 53 years by beating the Spurs in five games, and while in the arena postgame, he crossed paths with actor/comedian Tracy Morgan, a Knicks and Giants fan.
During a brief conversation, Dart told Morgan, “We’ve got to double back New York,” according to NJ.com.
In Green Bay, former Utah State star Jordan Love is headed into his fourth year as the Packers’ starting quarterback.
In each of his three previous seasons as starter, the Packers have made the postseason — after making the divisional round during his first year as starter, Green Bay has lost on wild-card weekend the past two seasons.
The 27-year-old Love is coming off another solid campaign, after completing 66.3% of his passes for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions a year ago, while rushing for 199 yards.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, though, is projecting that the Packers’ playoff streak will end this year — not necessarily because of Love, but because of changes around him, including other roster questions.
“After picking the Packers to win the NFC and make it to the Super Bowl each of the past two years, I’m reluctantly forced by the structure of this column to bow out and hop off their bandwagon this year,” Barnwell wrote.
Which Utah ties have the best chance at a Super Bowl title?
In February, two players with Utah ties — former Weber State receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed and former Utah linebacker Connor O’Toole — won a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks, as they beat the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
Several Utah connections will be in contention again this year.
The latest odds not only have the Seahawks as a strong contender to repeat, but they also give the Rams, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens the best chance to win this year’s Super Bowl, according to The Athletic.
The Rams are heavy favorites — in Nacua’s three previous seasons with the franchise, Los Angeles has made the postseason every year, advancing as far as the NFC championship game a year ago.
Buffalo has a trio of former Utah stars — tight end Dalton Kincaid and safety Cole Bishop, both former Utes, start for the Bills, while tight end Jackson Hawes, a Highland High graduate, is a valuable depth piece in Buffalo.
The Seahawks brought back Shaheed and O’Toole this season, while the Ravens have former Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley on their roster.
