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The Athletic's Mike Sando released his always excellent Quarterback Tiers article this week, and as usual, it has stirred up some debate.
One of those dissenters is our own Warren Sharp, who did not like where Geno Smith landed in the exercise.
NFL coaches & GMs ranking Geno Smith 20th
…alongside Derek Carr
…below Deshaun Watson & Baker Mayfield?
hilarious & just flat out wrong pic.twitter.com/hbNIn1uicf
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 26, 2024
Ranking Geno Smith 20th alongside Derek Carr and below Deshaun Watson and Baker Mayfield is hilarious to me.
In the last two years, Geno is literally the #2 most accurate QB in the league based on CPOE, and he has the #1 lowest percent of incompletions due to inaccurate passes.
He doesn't have a high EPA average because Seattle wasn't throwing many TDs. They ran them in.
Seattle had a 94% run rate inside the five-yard line last year (early downs, first three quarters), #1 highest run rate in the NFL.
They had 6 rushing TDs to only 1 passing TD.
Inside the 10, they were 77% run, #2 highest run rate in the NFL.
That's why Geno is just 15th in EPA/play.
But take a look at other critical stats the last 2 years:
- #10 in YPA
- #6 in success rate
- #4 in completion rate
- #1 in accuracy
Sharp Football also has the Seahawks ranked 20th in our version of the quarterback rankings, but those rankings take into account the quarterback room as a whole.
Sam Howell is coming off a dreadful season, raising serious concerns about the quarterback situation in Seattle if something were to happen to Smith.
If he is healthy, though, Smith should provide at worst solid quarterback play in new OC Ryan Grubb‘s system, especially if the offensive line can keep him protected.
