For a quarterback, there’s no better feeling than knowing any ball you throw a player’s way will get caught. That’s one of the many reasons why first-year Las Vegas Raiders signal caller Geno Smith is excited to work with Jakobi Meyers.
And make no mistake–Meyers shares that same excitement when it comes to working with Smith. Potentially even more excitement, in fact. The 28-year-old made that clear late last week.
“Geno’s a dawg,” Meyers said about his new quarterback. “I like Geno a lot. It’s been real fun seeing the way he spin it, seeing the way he goes about his business.
“He beat me in here every day, which is cool. He knows all the play calls so when I mess up he can help me out. He’s a nice vet to have around, so I appreciate Geno.”
The leadership of Geno Smith is a quality that’s been well-documented by everyone – coach or player – in the building up to this point. More than that, Smith handles himself as an on-the-field coach; both the way he sees the game and the way he’s constantly teaching his teammates while trying to grow himself.
That’s exactly what Meyers is seeing on the field. And it’s something Sin City’s offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, also praised about his signal caller.
“Geno’s special. He’s got great leadership qualities,” Kelly said of Smith. “Geno’s literally like a second coach. His football acumen is really off the charts, and it’s impressive to be around him.”
High praise for the 34-year-old quarterback. Jakobi wasn’t done throwing praise his way, either.
Jakobi Meyers gives his thoughts on first-year Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith
Although Smith and Meyers have only been playing throw-and-catch with one another for just under three months, the Raiders’ 1,000-yard receiver this past season can’t help but be impressed by Sin City’s new man under center.
“He’s a vet’s vet, honestly. I truly mean that. And I feel like this is the first time where I’ve had in a minute, like I had Tom [Brady] for a year, that was a cool experience, but having Geno, it’s kind of bringing a sense of stability, if that makes sense,” Meyers noted of Smith’s impact.
“Like I said, he knows what he’s doing. He shows up the same every day, like his personality seems the same every day. I haven’t seen him have a bad day yet, so I can’t have no bad days if the leader’s not having a bad day.”
For Smith, he hasn’t seen more than one of his teammates accumulate 1,000-plus receiving yards since the 2022 season, where both D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett totaled just under 1,050 yards each. Two Raiders pass-catchers did that this past season: Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers.
One of those two rewrote the rookie tight end record books with 1,194 yards receiving and 112 receptions–the latter which is a rookie-record regardless of position.
The other is Jakobi Meyers, who became the first player in The 33rd Team‘s database to accumulate 100-plus targets with zero drops. Smith has both to throw to in 2025.
