Geno Smith is having a mixed season with the Seattle Seahawks. In last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he struggled, throwing two interceptions in a 36-24 defeat. This brings his total for the season to six interceptions, equal to the number of touchdown passes he has thrown, overshadowing his impressive 1,778 passing yards—the highest in the league so far.
This isn’t the first time Smith has faced a stretch of interceptions since taking over as Seattle’s starter. Last season, he threw six interceptions over four games from Weeks 6 to 9 but rebounded well afterward. The previous year also saw him struggle with interceptions in the latter half of the season, where he was fortunate not to have thrown even more.
Despite these inconsistencies, the Seahawks must be pleased with Smith’s performance over the past two and a half seasons. Heading into Week 7, Vinnie Iyer from The Sporting News ranks him 15th among NFL starting quarterbacks.
According to TSN, “Smith has responded well to a more up-tempo and aggressive passing game under former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. He leads the league with 1,778 passing yards and has room to improve his efficiency in this new offense.”
Long-term, Smith may look better on film than Brock Purdy (ranked sixth) and Kirk Cousins (ranked tenth). Additionally, Caleb Williams (ranked 13th) and Sam Darnold (ranked 14th) haven’t done enough lately to surpass Smith, who has been performing well since early 2022.
While a case could be made for Smith to be ranked as high as 11th, 15th seems reasonable given his current performance. To consistently break into the top 10, he’ll need to avoid trying to do too much, reminiscent of his earlier struggles with the New York Jets when he threw more interceptions than touchdowns
Most importantly the seahawks need to address the ongoing protection issues on Smith’s right side, which have been a long-standing problem. While he faces his own challenges, the lack of pass protection on that side is certainly hindering his performance.
