Geno Smith has seen his fair share of ups and downs in his NFL career, but the Seattle Seahawks 2024 starter appears to be in a dip. At least, that is how one NFL analyst appears to feel according to his rankings.
Former Buccaneers quarterback and current NBC analyst Chris Simms ranked Smith just 19th on his list of top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL in 2024.
The list has drawn plenty of ire from fans around the country, as some fans have accused Simms of ranking quarterbacks over others unfairly. Some notable names in interesting places are worth noting from the list.
Simms ranked Trevor Lawrence as a top-10 quarterback adjacent at 11th overall. Jordan Love was ranked 13th and Aaron Rodgers was ranked 14th.
Super Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy was ranked 17th. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was ranked ahead of 20 names at 20th.
Ryan Tannehill, who is still a free agent, is ranked inside the top 32. Having a starting caliber quarterback still on the free agent market in June is one turn of events few would have anticipated coming into the off-season.
Geno Smith faces familiar territory amid loss of analyst confidence
At this point, it is clear that Simms is cooling on Smith, as he ranked Smith 15th last year.
With Pete Carroll out the door and a new head honcho leading the Seahawks in 2024, Smith has a blank slate to prove himself worthy of another contract.
According to Spotrac, Smith has two more seasons left on his current deal. That said, the Seahawks have a financial incentive to move on from the quarterback this season. Of course, this is situation is nothing new for Smith.
The quarterback was originally picked by the New York Jets more than a decade ago. In 2013, Smith was seen as the Jets’ potential franchise quarterback. Instead, it didn’t work out. Smith floated around the league before settling in behind Russell Wilson in 2019.
When Wilson suffered an injury in 2021, Smith was ready. He didn’t take the league by storm, but also didn’t implode. This got Carroll and his team thinking.
At that point, the Seahawks decided it was time to move on from Wilson. The blockbuster trade of the 2022 offseason saw Wilson moved to Denver and Smith was left to pick up the pieces. Analysts braced for the Seahawks to be the worst team in the NFL.
However, Smith turned out to be the shock of the year. The quarterback threw for 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also won nine games, tripling Wilson’s total in Denver. The following season, he took a half-step back, however. Smith threw for 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2023, setting the stage for a prove-it year for the quarterback.
Will Geno Smith put on another shocking output in 2024?
