The Seattle Seahawks are set for their third season with veteran quarterback Geno Smith holding the reins of the offense.
Smith’s third season as the starter in Seattle coincides with the start of a new era in the Pacific Northwest led by first-time head coach Mike Macdonald.
The change at the top of the Seahawks’ coaching ladder resulted in a new staff being brought in, including offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. The first-time NFL coordinator led one of the best passing offenses in the country at the college level over the past two season with the UW Huskies.
Grubb’s offense took advantage of the skill set of uber-accurate quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and a talented trio of receivers. In Seattle, he’ll have the same sort of weapons with Smith at QB and top receivers DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett.
The combination of Grubb and Smith in particular is one that The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen is excited about.
“I cannot wait for that marriage, by the way. I think that is one of the coolest that they could have done, because Geno past about the 12-to-15-yard mark is truly one of the best passers in the NFL,” Klassen told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Tuesday. “He makes two or three throws a game where it doesn’t seem like he has any right to throw the ball, but then he just somehow fits it into a keyhole 25 yards down the field, puts it right in DK Metcalf’s chest. Just the fact that he can make all of those shows is incredible to me, and now you have an offense that is fully leaning into that.”
UW averaged a whopping 343.7 passing yards per game last season. Penix led the country with 4,903 yards through the air.
“They pretty much just ran five-man protection and were throwing five-step drop and just gunning it down the field and letting Michael Penix use his arm,” Klassen said. “I think it’s not going to be quite as aggressive (with the Seahawks) as it was at Washington, because I think part of what allowed Washington to do that was they had the best offensive line in college football. That is certainly not the case in Seattle.”
However, Klassen believes a step forward by the offensive line and a certain receiver could be just enough to help Smith have more of an opportunity to showcase his abilities throwing the deep ball
“If the offensive line can be a tier better than it was last year and be a little bit healthier, I think that will give Geno enough time to kind of unleash himself down the field,” Klassen said. “And truthfully, I think Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a better downfield receiver than people think. Coming out of college, I think he was viewed as this only-underneath, zone-beater type, but I think he has a little bit more juice to him than people realize.”
An area for Geno to improve
While Smith’s ability as a passer down the field impresses Klassen, it can also be “a gift and a curse.”
“There are a couple of plays a game where he just tries to make the hard throw when he doesn’t really have to,” Klassen said. “There are a couple of times where he just absolutely throws it through a keyhole – and really almost by itself that throw can save a drive – but at the same time, there are two or three times a game where he kind of hangs on and he’s trying to throw a backside dig when a flat route was there, or he could just check down but he’s holding on to the ball under pressure and tries to make this insane throw.”
Klassen doesn’t want to see Smith shy away from pushing the ball down the field too often, though.
“I think if he could just cut down on those a little bit, that would be great,” Klassen said. “You don’t want to neuter him too much to where he loses some of his downfield aggression, but I think just get him to a point where it’s like, ‘Hey man, the defense is not going to give up 35 points every single game. The offensive line is not going to get you killed every single play. Let’s slow down a little bit. Let’s take some of the yards that are there.’ So if he could get a little bit more into that mindset, I think they’d be in a great spot.”
