SEAHAWKS QB GENO SMITH FINALLY GETS A PROPER RANKING FROM NFL ANALYST

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith might be the most underappreciated starting quarterback in the NFL right now. Despite coming off two very sharp years in a row leading Seattle's offense, Smith is still considered an average-at-best QB by most analysts.

There are some who do recognize his game though, and you won't find a bigger cheerleader in the national media than Steven Ruiz at The Ringer, who just came out with his first batch of quarterback rankings ahead of the 2024 season. Geno came in at number 10 on his list. Here's what Ruiz had to say about Smith's game going into his third year as the Seahawks' starter.

Steven Ruiz on Seahawks QB Geno Smith:

"Geno Smith has developed into one of the most well-rounded quarterbacks in the NFL. Good luck finding a real weakness in his game. He doesn’t have the biggest arm in the league, but he might throw the prettiest ball... He steps up in the face of pressure rather than backing down. He makes quick, smart decisions but will also hold on to the ball for a beat longer when the situation calls for it."

Ruiz knows Smith's game is not flawless, though. He correctly identified Geno's greatest weakness as also being his greatest strength: his overconfidence. Early in his career with the New York Jets, that element of his game became too much of a liability, which is why Smith eventually lost the starting job after just two seasons.

At some point when Smith was standing on the sidelines between 2015 and 2021 backing up other quarterbacks he realized he'd have to dial back that instinct to go for broke just a little bit. When he finally got his chance to start the 2022 season Smith showed that he had mastered the art of balancing aggression with caution.

What Geno Smith can improve on in 2024

However, Smith has proven too good for his own good at times and has let his confidence get away from him occasionally. As a result Smith has gone through a few stretches when he has made too many turnover-risky throws. For example, from Weeks 11-13 in the 2022 season he threw four interceptions and last year from Weeks 5-8 he threw six.

Smith has always broken out of those funks and all together he has a pretty respectable 50/20 touchdown-to-interception ratio since he took over for Russell Wilson two years ago. That first number should be higher, but that has more to do with poor playcalling in the red zone by former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron than anything else.

Looking ahead, if Smith can avoid going through one of those pick-happy stretches and he boosts his red zone production under new OC Ryan Grubb, he should be able to continue performing at a top-10 level all year, perhaps even better.

2024-09-05T15:00:35Z dg43tfdfdgfd