With strong start to 2024, where does Geno Smith rank in QB hierarchy?

Sep 29, 2024, 2:08 PM | Updated: 2:24 pm

Seattle Seahawks Geno Smith pass vs. Miami Dolphins 2024...

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith throws a pass against the Dolphins on Sept. 22. (Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

(Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

Seattle Seahawks signal caller Geno Smith has been one of the league’s best quarterbacks through the first three weeks of the season.

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Smith ranks third in the NFL in both completion rate (74.8%) and passing yards per game (262.3). He has a league-best 83.8% Pro Football Focus adjusted completion rate, which factors in the six passes his receivers have dropped. He also is the fifth-ranked quarterback in PFF grading and is eighth in ESPN’s QBR metric.

Smith has thrown three interceptions, but the context is important. Two of his interceptions were largely due to pressure from the pass rush and the other was tipped at the line of scrimmage. As a result, PFF has credited him with only one turnover-worthy play. His 0.8% turnover-worthy play rate is the third-lowest of any quarterback with at least 75 dropbacks.

And he’s done all this despite being under frequent duress from pass-protection issues up front. Seattle ranks 29th in PFF’s pass block grading and Smith has been pressured 43 times, which is tied for seventh-most of any quarterback in the league.

With his laser-like precision so far this season, where does the 33-year-old Smith rank in the NFL’s quarterback hierarchy? Steven Ruiz, who does weekly in-depth quarterback rankings for The Ringer, moved Smith up to No. 7 this week.

“I think what I’m seeing is just a tightening of his process,” Ruiz said Thursday during an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “It’s not like he’s changed dramatically over the three seasons he’s played in Seattle, but he’s trimming the fat from his game.

“What we’ve seen from him this year is just nothing short of amazing. He’s just not making a lot of mistakes.”

In his QB rankings, Ruiz has Smith behind Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and Dallas’ Dak Prescott. He has Smith ahead of Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, who round out his top 10.

Co-host Stacy Rost asked if Ruiz has considered putting Smith in his top five.

“I’ve kind of been dipping my toes in those waters,” Ruiz said. “I’m not ready to declare him a top-five quarterback. For me, he’s like the hardest quarterback to place, especially in the top 10, because there are these guys that we kind of automatically place at that top tier, like a Joe Burrow for instance.

“But I think you could make the argument that Geno Smith has been better than Joe Burrow not just this year, but over the last year. I think he’s definitely been better than guys like Trevor Lawrence. And then I think you could start to make the argument that he’s been better than Dak Prescott over the last year, I would say.”

Ruiz said Smith is benefiting from new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme, which he thinks is a perfect fit.

“I think it just offers him the platform to kind of show off his strengths,” Ruiz said. “He’s a pure dropback passer. He’s a guy you can just give the ball to (and) put him in an iso situation. To use a basketball analogy, he’s gonna go get you a bucket. And I think Ryan Grubb is really leaning on that.

“I would like to see them add a little more easy buttons to the offense for Geno (to) mitigate some of the pass protection issues. But right now, we’re seeing the best of Geno.”

Listen to the full conversation with Steven Ruiz at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.