Geno Smith: Puts in full practice Wednesday

This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player’s percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average. The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.

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Smith did the unthinkable last season — he made Seahawks fans forget about Russell Wilson. Wilson’s Denver implosion obviously played a part, but it was Smith’s unexpected success in leading Seattle to the playoffs that really turned the page. He led the league in completion percentage (69.8) and was fourth in on-target percentage (75.9) and TD passes (30). And he did it as one of the best deep-ball passers in the league. Smith’s 60 percent on-target rate on attempts of 20-plus yards tied for the league lead, his 49.1 completion percentage ranked second and his 10 TD passes were third. Smith finished QB5 in fantasy (QB9 per game) but skepticism understandably abounds for a repeat. The Seahawks, though, appear to have a better offense around him now. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, gives Seattle a third receiver it didn’t have last season to go with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, one of the league’s best WR duos. The Seahawks also added RB Zach Charbonnet in Round 2 to team with explosive 2022 second-round pick Kenneth Walker. Up front, Seattle’s young line is on the upswing, though the center spot is uncertain heading into training camp. Smith also adds a bit of rushing (eighth among QBs in rushing yards) to help his fantasy prospects. Perhaps Smith won’t finish top 5 among quarterbacks again, but he should still have value in single-QB leagues.

Smith played four games (three starts) last year in place of an injured Russell Wilson and looked like the backup he is. Two games ended on Smith turnovers, and in another game the only TD came on an uncalled OPI. His only win came at home against the Jaguars. Nevertheless, Smith competed with Drew Lock for the starting job this offseason, training camp and preseason, ultimately being name the starter at the end of exhibition season. In the end, the Seahawks may have resorted to the known commodity in Smith out of necessity. The team has excellent WRs in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, and while new TE Noah Fant provides a third solid receiving option, Seattle could be more run-heavy than ever this year. Smith figures to be below average in both passing volume and efficiency.

Smith has served as Russell Wilson’s backup for the past two seasons, and he’s taken the field in just one game, logging 18 snaps. The 30-year-old signal-caller hasn’t played more than 66 offensive snaps in a season since 2014, and that won’t change in 2021 unless Wilson gets hurt.

Smith didn’t play at all in 2019 behind Russell Wilson, and he’ll audition for the backup job again this season. However, this time around may be tougher after the Seahawks signed undrafted rookie Anthony Gordon, who racked up 48 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in his senior year at Washington State. Smith hasn’t played meaningful snaps since 2017, so his battle against Gordon could go through the preseason.

Since being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Smith hasn’t finished a season with an impressive stat line and he’s thrown just 96 passes over the last four years. However, he has had a decent preseason competing with Paxton Lynch, who has a head injury keeping him on the sidelines, to be Russell Wilson’s backup in 2019. Even if Smith wins over the backup job, his opportunities will likely be scarce since Wilson hasn’t missed a game in his seven-year career.

The fact that the 27-year-old actually started a game for the Giants in 2017 ahead of a healthy Eli Manning says more about the organization’s dysfunction than Smith’s capabilities behind center, as the West Virginia alum was quickly displaced after his Week 13 start. Now in Los Angeles, Smith joins a quarterback depth chart led by 36-year-old Philip Rivers, as well as promising youngster Cardale Jones. While Smith certainly won’t overtake the grizzled veteran on the depth chart, there’s a chance his experience and athleticism could give him the edge in what figures to be a spirited fight for the backup role.

Smith was brought in to back up Eli Manning and won’t see action unless Manning were to get hurt. Smith suffered a torn ACL in Week 7 last year, but claims to be completely healthy in camp. Should Smith get a shot, he’d have a modicum of upside given the weapons at his disposal and his ability to generate points with his legs.

It’s been a tumultuous career in New York for Smith, to say the least. A second-round pick in 2013, he played all 16 games as a rookie, but then had trouble keeping an aging Michael Vick on the bench in 2014, and barely played last season after a locker-room fight with a teammate left Smith with a broken jaw that sidelined him for six weeks and opened the door for Ryan Fitzpatrick to seize the starting job. From a physical standpoint, Smith has all the tools to succeed in the NFL. He’s got the mobility to escape pressure and move the chains as a scrambler, and the arm strength to stretch the field or fit the ball into tight coverage windows. However, his pocket awareness was rudimentary coming out of a college spread offense, and his shaky footwork leaves his accuracy far below modern NFL standards. Smith is still young enough to turn things around, and as Fitzpatrick proved in 2015, the Jets have the weapons in the passing game to make even average QBs look good.

The good news is that Smith cut his interceptions from 21 in 2013 to 13 last year. The bad news is pretty much everything else. Smith threw only 13 touchdowns in 13 starts and was benched midseason for Michael Vick. His dismal YPA did not improve from the previous year, and his completion percentage the last two years (57.5) ranks 37th out of 41 qualified quarterbacks. With a new regime in town this season, Smith was expected to compete for the starting job with Ryan Fitzpatrick, until he was punched by a teammate during training camp. Smith is now expected to miss at least the first two games of the season with a broken jaw, leaving Fitzpatrick as the starter by default. If he eventually gets healthy and takes the job back, Smith will at least have an improved supporting cast after the Jets traded for Brandon Marshall and drafted deep-threat Devin Smith in the second round. Those two join last season’s leading receiver Eric Decker and 6-5 tight end Jace Amaro. Smith is physically gifted — quick release, strong arm, nice touch, good athleticism — but hasn’t demonstrated the ability to consistently read defenses or make good decisions.

As long as he holds the starting role over Michael Vick, Smith should establish decent QB2 value. His average of 6.9 YPA last year was respectable considering his extremely weak supporting cast, and his rushing production (366 yards and six touchdowns) was rather impressive. He’ll likely throw with significantly better efficiency now that the Jets added Eric Decker, Jace Amaro and Chris Johnson as pass-catching threats.

Smith’s draft-day experience didn’t go as planned, and now he’ll be competing with a quarterback who was over-drafted in Mark Sanchez. Smith probably needs a year to sit, but he might not have that luxury with the Jets. Look for the rookie to run the ball more often than he did in college. Without established playmakers on his side, though, he’s a long shot to thrive as a passer.