Fantasy football may be responsible for much of the growth of the NFL fan base over the last couple of decades. However, it's also responsible for a ton of bad takes and inaccurate assessments of good players who just aren't producing strong fantasy numbers.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith might have cause to complain about that more than anyone. Since he took over as Seattle's starter in place of Russell Wilson in 2022, Smith has balled out even though his traditional numbers are not all that impressive. To recap, he posted:
- 2022: 4,282 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
- 2023: 4,742 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, 9 interceptions
That's not going to win you a lot of league championships, but if you're actually watching every Seahawks game, or if you just dig a little deeper into some advanced stats you'll see that Smith is performing better than just about any other starter in some areas.
For example, Smith had a brilliant pressure-to-sack ratio last season, with only Patrick Mahomes beating him out in that particular department. Smith is also incredibly accurate compared to early in his career with the Jets when he was below 60%. Geno led the NFL with a 69.8% completion rate in 2022 and just this morning he shared another stat that demonstrates how accurate he is from last season.
Smith shared these numbers from Warren Sharp that shows the highest rate of incompletions due to inaccurate passes in 2023. The ghost of Deshaun Watson was at the top (43.9%). Meanwhile, Geno was all the way at the bottom with a league-best 21.6%.
— Geno (@GenoSmith3) July 1, 2024
Heading into his third year as Seattle's No. 1 quarterback, Smith is firmly at the top of their depth chart, miles ahead of Sam Howell and P.J. Walker. Unless there's a blowout or he suffers a major injury Smith will take every rep at quarterback this coming season and rightfully so.
However, after the 2024 campaign the Seahawks may have a tough decision to make. If they really want to see what Howell is capable of with another QB1 opportunity then they'll have to move on from Smith, and cutting him would save them $25 million in salary cap room for the 2025 season.
Then again, Smith is still a far superior passer and getting one year older is unlikely to really change that dynamic. Outside of Jordan Love's strange contract with Green Bay where he essentially bet against himself it's difficult to find a better value for any quarterback who isn't still on their rookie contract.
Bottom line: Smith may only be a bridge QB between Russ and Seattle's next long-term franchise starter, but that bridge has already grown pretty long. If offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb can boost his game to the next level there won't be any end in sight.
