3 pros and cons of Geno Smith being Seattle Seahawks QB1 in 2024

Con No. 1 - Geno Smith has digressed some in 2023; Why would 2024 be better?

Drew Lock played OK in Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, his first start since being traded to the Seahawks before the 2022 season. He was far from perfect - throwing into triple-coverage and being intercepted was probably not the wisest of ideas, for instance - but he was fairly comparable to what Smith has done for most of the year. Smith, however, has had better games than what Lock had in Week 15. Geno Smith was fantastic against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14, for example.

But in comparing Smith to himself and his 2022 season, many of his important numbers aren't as good in 2023. His completion percentage is down five points (69.8 to 64.4), his interception percentage is up (1.9 last year and 2.2 this season), his touchdown percentage is way down (5.2 to 3.7), and has thrown 2 fewer interceptions (9 versus 11 in 2022) even though he has passed 170 fewer times.

This has happened even though he is being sacked less by percentage (7.4 to 6.3) so in theory, he has more plays in which to get rid of the ball. The Seahawks are also 19th in points per game (21.5) but were ninth in 2022 (23.9). Smith is leading a far less efficient offense this year.

So since Geno Smith is clearly worse statistically in 2023 than in 2022, when he should have improved since he is now in his second season as the full-time QB1, why should we expect him to be better in 2024? Maybe any change of quarterback could be an improvement. A rookie quarterback might make a lot of mistakes at first, but at least there should be the potential for gradual improvement as the season wears on.