Among unexciting veteran quarterbacks, there's Geno Smith. He's a starter, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of upside, at least based on 2023. But he might be underrated.
Smith is a clear starter -- Sam Howell isn't going to push for playing time -- working with a nice trio of wide receivers. And more importantly in fantasy terms, Smith himself says he's going to run more this season.
"Last year, really midway through the season, I felt I could have used my legs a little bit more,” Smith says in a story at ESPN. “That’s something I want to continue to do. I’m still very athletic. I play within the pocket, that’s the base of my game, but I think I can add an extra element to what defenses have to account for if I get a couple extra first downs or a couple extra touchdowns.”
He's right, which his 2022 numbers for Seattle make clear. That season, he rushed for 366 yards. That helped him shockingly finish as the 5th-best quarterback in fantasy leagues. Contrast that with last year, when he ran for only 155 yards. He also did less as a passer, but that minimal rushing production factored heavily into him finishing as just the 17th-best fantasy quarterback.
Table shows all quarterbacks who started 12-plus games either of the last two seasons, sorted by fantasy performance. Running Geno has a lot more upside than non-running Geno.
QUARTERBACKS, 2022-2023 (MINIMUM 12 STARTS EACH SEASON) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | GS | Pass | TD | Run | TD | Rk |
2023 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 17 | 4306 | 29 | 524 | 15 | 1 |
2022 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 17 | 5250 | 41 | 358 | 4 | 1 |
2022 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 4283 | 35 | 762 | 7 | 2 |
2023 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 17 | 3858 | 23 | 605 | 15 | 2 |
2022 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 3701 | 22 | 760 | 13 | 3 |
2023 | Dak Prescott, Dall. | 17 | 4516 | 36 | 242 | 2 | 3 |
2023 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 16 | 3678 | 24 | 821 | 5 | 4 |
2022 | Joe Burrow, Cin. | 16 | 4475 | 35 | 257 | 5 | 4 |
2022 | Geno Smith, Sea. | 17 | 4282 | 30 | 366 | 1 | 5 |
2023 | Jordan Love, G.B. | 17 | 4159 | 32 | 247 | 4 | 5 |
2022 | Kirk Cousins, Min. | 17 | 4547 | 29 | 97 | 2 | 6 |
2023 | Jared Goff, Det. | 17 | 4575 | 30 | 21 | 2 | 6 |
2022 | Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 17 | 4113 | 25 | 291 | 5 | 7 |
2023 | Brock Purdy, S.F. | 16 | 4280 | 31 | 144 | 2 | 7 |
2023 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 16 | 4183 | 27 | 389 | 0 | 8 |
2022 | Justin Herbert, LAC | 17 | 4739 | 25 | 147 | 0 | 8 |
2023 | Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 17 | 4624 | 29 | 74 | 0 | 9 |
2022 | Jared Goff, Det. | 17 | 4438 | 29 | 73 | 0 | 9 |
2023 | Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 16 | 4016 | 21 | 339 | 4 | 10 |
2022 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 17 | 4694 | 25 | -1 | 1 | 10 |
2022 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 15 | 2242 | 17 | 1143 | 8 | 11 |
2023 | Sam Howell, Was. | 17 | 3946 | 21 | 263 | 5 | 11 |
2022 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 16 | 3205 | 15 | 708 | 7 | 12 |
2023 | Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 17 | 4044 | 28 | 163 | 1 | 12 |
2023 | C.J. Stroud, Hou. | 15 | 4108 | 23 | 167 | 3 | 13 |
2022 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 17 | 3695 | 26 | 94 | 1 | 13 |
2023 | Russell Wilson, Den. | 15 | 3070 | 26 | 341 | 3 | 14 |
2022 | Russell Wilson, Den. | 15 | 3524 | 16 | 277 | 3 | 14 |
2022 | Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 13 | 3548 | 25 | 70 | 0 | 15 |
2023 | Matthew Stafford, LAR | 15 | 3965 | 24 | 65 | 0 | 15 |
2022 | Derek Carr, L.V. | 15 | 3522 | 24 | 102 | 0 | 16 |
2023 | Derek Carr, N.O. | 17 | 3878 | 25 | 40 | 0 | 16 |
2022 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 12 | 2242 | 17 | 764 | 3 | 17 |
2023 | Geno Smith, Sea. | 15 | 3624 | 20 | 155 | 1 | 17 |
2023 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 13 | 2562 | 16 | 657 | 4 | 18 |
2022 | Dak Prescott, Dall. | 12 | 2860 | 23 | 182 | 1 | 18 |
2023 | Justin Herbert, LAC | 13 | 3134 | 20 | 228 | 3 | 19 |
2022 | Davis Mills, Hou. | 15 | 3118 | 17 | 108 | 2 | 19 |
2022 | Marcus Mariota, Atl. | 13 | 2219 | 15 | 438 | 4 | 20 |
2023 | Joshua Dobbs, 2TM | 12 | 2464 | 13 | 421 | 6 | 20 |
2023 | Gardner Minshew, Ind. | 13 | 3305 | 15 | 100 | 3 | 21 |
2023 | Desmond Ridder, Atl. | 13 | 2836 | 12 | 193 | 5 | 22 |
2022 | Mac Jones, N.E. | 14 | 2997 | 14 | 102 | 1 | 22 |
2023 | Bryce Young, Car. | 16 | 2877 | 11 | 253 | 0 | 23 |
2022 | Andy Dalton, N.O. | 14 | 2871 | 18 | 54 | 0 | 23 |
2022 | Matt Ryan, Ind. | 12 | 3057 | 14 | 70 | 1 | 24 |
2022 | Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 12 | 2536 | 13 | 98 | 2 | 26 |
2022 | Kenny Pickett, Pitt. | 12 | 2404 | 7 | 237 | 3 | 28 |
2023 | Kenny Pickett, Pitt. | 12 | 2070 | 6 | 54 | 1 | 31 |
To be clear, I don't think anyone should be drafting Smith as a starter. His ceiling is probably perhaps sneaking into the top 15, top 12 at the very best. Running more doesn't mean he'll run enough to be a weekly option.
But he seems to fit the profile as No. 2 fantasy quarterback pretty well. There will be some good games along the way, and if he's running more, some solid weeks. Currently being drafted outside the top 20 (at the highest), a solid enough backup in typical leagues.
--Andy Richardson