The fact that the Seattle Seahawks have chosen to move on from the Geno Smith era at quarterback can’t come as a total shock to fans. There were always rumblings that John Schneider would look to start over with someone new in 2025. Even so, when an NFL team trades its starting quarterback without an obvious replacement in hand, it is bound to create shock waves.
News that the Seahawks have agreed to a deal that will reunite Smith with former Seattle coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas broke late Friday. The trade will not become official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday at 1 pm PT.
Seattle will have Sam Howell, Jaren Hall, and jack-of-all-trades John Rhys Plumlee remaining on the roster after the Smith trade is complete. Howell started for the Washington Commanders in 2023 with uneven success. It is difficult to imagine Mike Macdonald turning his team over to the former UNC star in the coming season.
Four Geno Smith replacements that the Seattle Seahawks can find in the 2025 NFL draft
It has been rumored that Schneider will now set his sights on Sam Darnold when free agency begins. That would appear to make a great deal of sense at this point. Along with Russell Wilson, he is the most attractive veteran signal caller available. If he fails to land Darnold, Schneider could go a bit further down the list and consider Marcus Mariota or Justin Fields.
Whether he sees Howell, Darnold, or someone like Mariota as a viable option to start in 2025, the odds of the Seahawks choosing a quarterback in this year’s draft have gone up immeasurably in light of the Geno Smith news.
There are only two QBs who seem likely to go in the first round, and both – Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders – will probably be off the board by the time the Hawks' first pick comes up. A trade-up for one of them is a long shot. Sanders could fall a bit, but it is doubtful he would fall to a point where Seattle could trade up and grab him.
However, even though there will not be a run on quarterbacks in the first round this year, there are a lot of quality prospects who could go on day two, or perhaps early on day three. There is a very good chance that the Hawks will have their eyes on one or two of these prospects. Let’s take a quick look at four quarterbacks Seattle could select in this year’s draft to help fill the void left in the wake of Geno Smith's departure.
Jaxson Dart, Mississippi
Jaxson Dart may serve as something of an inflection point for the Seahawks. John Schneider met with the prospect last week. It may be coincidental that he decided a week later to trade Geno Smith. Or it may be a sign that Schneider sees Dart as his quarterback of the future.
Scouts' opinions about Dart vary quite a bit. Some have him clearly ranked as the third-best prospect behind Ward and Sanders. A few even have him ahead of Sanders. Other scouts question his size (6’2”, 223) and his arm strength, especially on deep balls.
Dart has three solid years of playing against SEC competition under his belt. He improved every season and ended his career by completing almost 70 percent of his passes for more than 4,000 yards in 2024. 29 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He is not a dynamic runner like Lamar Jackson or Jayden Daniels, but he moves very well and is athletic enough to extend plays and get crucial yards when needed. Other than the deepest of throws, his arm talent has never been questioned.
Dart is not currently projected to go in the first round, but trending quarterbacks tend to rise quickly. Schneider may not be able to wait until the second round if he really wants Dart. If he is, in fact, targeting the Ole Miss star, a more likely strategy might be to trade out of the 18th pick in round one, moving toward the end of the first round and picking up more assets on days two and three.
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Milroe is an exceptional athlete who played extremely well at times for Alabama over the last two seasons. He is a dynamic runner and has a powerful arm. There is almost nothing Milroe cannot do on a football field.
The knock is his consistency. Though he was often spectacular, Milroe could hit bad stretches at times. His disastrous outing against Oklahoma late last year has some scouts questioning how he will fare against NFL-caliber defenses. His rather mundane 16:11 touchdown/interception ratio in his final year is cause for concern.
Of course, you can balance that against his 20 touchdown runs and more than 700 yards on the ground in 2024. Milroe almost certainly needs some time to develop before he is ready to take over a pro team. He makes a lot of sense in the second or third round if Seattle signs a veteran free agent as a short-term bridge.
Drafting an elite running QB from Alabama who is named Jalen and needs to improve as a passer worked pretty well for Philadelphia a few years back. They brought Jalen Hurts along slowly in his first season. In his fifth, he was Super Bowl MVP.
Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
Leonard was a very promising QB in his sophomore year at Duke. Things took a bad turn the following year when several injuries cut his season short. He transferred to Notre Dame for his final season and took them all the way to the championship game.
Leonard is an exceptional athlete. He was a very good basketball player before switching full-time to football (both his father and uncle played basketball in college). At 6’4” and 216 pounds, he is fast and fluid. He can move in the pocket, and he can take off when the pocket breaks down. Leonard ran for over 900 yards last year for Notre Dame.
Like many young quarterbacks, Leonard has a fine arm and quick release, but he is subject to bouts of inconsistency. He will probably follow a similar trajectory as Jalen Milroe in the NFL. If he can develop slowly over a season or two, his athletic gifts should serve him very well. If he is rushed onto the field, he may never develop into a quality QB.
Will Howard, Ohio State
Of all the quarterbacks on this list, the QB of the reigning national champions has the most prototypical size and arm talent. He has a strong pocket presence that can stand up to chaos and a big arm that can make every throw.
After playing four years at Kansas State, Howard came to Ohio State for his fifth and final season and was a revelation, completing 73 percent of his passes for more than 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns. There was a time a few decades back when a 6’4”, 235-pound QB with a cannon for an arm would have been at the top of many draft boards.
There are two things that could make him fall into he middle rounds. Though he is not exactly immobile, Howard does not have the natural athleticism of the other signal callers on the list. He is not likely to take off for a big run when a play breaks down. His ability to extend plays is primarily based on his size and toughness rather than his natural elusiveness.
Then there is the fact that Howard’s production in his one year at Ohio State was significantly better than his seasons at Kansas State. That might lead scouts to question whether his great success in 2024 owed more to his teammates than to his own ability. Still, Howard's gifts are obvious. If he ends up with a coordinator who prefers a drop-back pocket passer to a dual-threat QB, there is room for Will Howard.
Dart and Howard are very different types of QBs, but they are more likely ready to play sooner rather than later. Milroe will need time, but his athletic upside may be the best in the 2025 class. And Leonard brings certain intangibles along with excellent legs. None are can’t-miss prospects. But there’s an excellent chance one could be a very good starting quarterback in the NFL three years from now. John Schneider just needs to figure out which one it is most likely to be.
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