Seahawks backup quarterback Sam Howell may be struggling at training camp so far, but starter Geno Smith is looking better than ever according to the people watching him and competing against him every day in practice. Smith may be 33 years old and entering his 11th season in the NFL. However, his late-blooming stardom seems to be getting better with each season as he continues to raise his level of play.
Howell's work has been described by one beat reporter as alarming, but Smith's teammates have brought out the old E word to describe his game. Here's what veteran nose tackle Jarran Reed had to share about his Smith, per team reporter John Boyle.
"Geno looks great... He looked great last year. I think he looks so focused this year. His timing is good, his reads are good. Everything he is doing right now is elite. I think he is on an elite level right now. I'm so excited to see what our offense has to bring this year."
In his first year as Seattle's starter in 2022 Smith showed that he is now far more accurate than he was early in his career with the Jets, when he couldn't even complete 60% of his pass attempts. That year he wound up leading the NFL in completion percentage, coming in just under 70%. For an encore, Smith showed in 2023 that he can escape sacks about as well as any quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes - a hard necessity given the poor pass protection he had to deal with all year.
All the while, Smith has kept intact the aggressive instincts that he displayed during his time at West Virginia and in New York. He's arguably been the league's best deep ball thrower over the last two seasons.
It's difficult to imagine how Smith can get much better at this point in his career. For the Seahawks to get to the next level they'll have to upgrade their offensive line and perform at least at an average level on defense. With a new coaching staff in place, there's legitimate hope on both counts.
