Is this a real article? In the year 2022 and in his ninth year in the league, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is fantasy QB9 and setting records along the way in the post-Russell Wilson era. Smith has completed 77.3% of his passes thus far, an NFL record through the first four games of the season.
IS GENO ACTUALLY A VIABLE QB1?
Now, say you drafted Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or even Derek Carr at the start of the season. You’ve probably been scanning the waiver wire for a QB in case the lack of production continues through the next few weeks.
Tua Tagovailoa and Carson Wentz were early waiver wire adds, but we’ve all seen the news surrounding Tua and Wentz is slowly turning into Wentz. Enough said. Fellow RSJ contributor Chase Marquette-Gaines touched on another streaming option in Jared Goff last week, and Geno should be in the same conversation moving forward.
Everyone and their mothers had written off Geno Smith and the Seahawks going into this season. Then, he outplayed Wilson in Week 1 and has dramatically outplayed Russ at the quarter mark of the season.
The completion percentage is incredible, but that may not be the most intriguing sentiment about Geno so far. Smith has proven to be a quality game manager in a balanced offense with a solid offensive line. Just check out the passing charts through four weeks. The numbers aren’t sexy, but they are effective in moving the ball and staying on offense, all while racking up decent quarterback numbers for your fantasy team.
Now, the defense may not be the vaunted Legion of Boom of past years, which is a good thing for fantasy. A marginal defense mixed with an efficient dink-and-dunk offense often produces successful fantasy quarterbacks, especially if they limit turnovers. On top of all this, Geno presents quasi-Konami Code upside with his work on the ground.
WHY THIS JUST MAY WORK
Under Wilson, the Seahawks consistently produced at least two fantasy-relevant WRs and one or two streamable running backs. The Geno Smith experience has been no different. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are WR22 and 23 respectively, while Penny is RB24 after a dominant Week 4.
Geno is averaging 18.72 FPPG, ahead of Russ (16.2), Carr (15.5), Brady (14.5), Kirk Cousins (14.5), and Rodgers (12.6). DK and Lockett each have over 34 targets on the season, while Noah Fant (11) and Will Dissly (12) both factor into the offense as touchdown-dependent options.
All in all, if you waited to snag a late-round QB and they’ve been underwhelming, Geno Smith (13% rostered) should be a legit option moving forward. Smith sits at QB19 per The Wolf’s Week 5 Rankings.
