Huard: A stat Seahawks’ Geno Smith can improve in Kubiak’s scheme

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is no stranger to dealing with change at offensive coordinator.

Through his first 12 seasons in the NFL, Smith has already played under seven different offensive coordinators across stops with four different teams. That number is set to grow to eight in year 13, as Smith and the Seattle’s offense are now under the leadership of new play-caller Klint Kubiak.

Kubiak’s dad pinpoints what will be key role under Seattle Seahawks’ new OC

Kubiak brings in an offense that stems from the well-known Shanahan coaching tree. One that his dad, Gary, ran for years under Mike Shanahan in Denver and continued with the Houston Texans before returning to Denver as the head coach. Of course, it’s also the same touted scheme that Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and many other across the NFL run.

During his Blue 88 segment Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted a stat he believes Smith will improve in Kubiak’s system. Huard pointed to Smith’s ability to run with the football.

Smith ranked 15th among quarterbacks with 272 rushing yards last season. Nearly a quarter of those yards came on just two plays, a 34-yard TD run in the season opener against the Broncos and a 32-yard in Week 5 against the Giants. His 16 rushing yards per game were 20th in the league.

And he does it himself 💨 pic.twitter.com/8nfgmHbf9j

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 8, 2024

Smith also ran for the game-winning, 13-yard score in the final seconds of a big road win against the rival San Francisco 49ers in Week 11.

With 12 seconds left, @GenoSmith3 does it himself. 👏 pic.twitter.com/QXR3jEodxh

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 18, 2024

Mobility has been and still is a big part of Smith’s game despite being around the middle of the pack in rushing last season. In fact, he posted the fastest sprint speed at 21.67 mph during the Seahawks’ fastest man competition during OTAs in 2024 as a 33 year old. His 366 rushing yards in his age-32 season in 2022 tied his career high from his rookie campaign in 2013.

“I think he can be top 10,” Huard said. “When you look at the list, it’s not as if, oh my gosh, you can’t catch Bo Nix or some of the other guys who are right there ahead of him in this scheme with all of the boot(legs), all the movement in the pocket, all the play action. And when you do give Geno space … a little bit like Russell (Wilson), when you give them room and air to breathe in the pocket and you give them the big play action stuff, I think most quarterbacks are more comfortable in that. Geno is very comfortable in that.”

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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• There’s an intriguing QB Seahawks could target in trade
• Huard: 6 reasons Seattle Seahawks hired Klint Kubiak as OC
• Why guard upgrades just became even more important for Seahawks
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