4 Seattle Seahawks players that are absolutely set to explode in 2023
By Lee Vowell
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith
Many 12s like Geno Smith as his attitude seems more genuine than Russell Wilson's ever was and Smith was a good quarterback last year. But there are also many 12s that don't like Smith. I am still a bit confused at this as Smith did lead the NFC in touchdown passes in 2022 with 30 and he led the league in completion percentage at 69.8. He also got little help from his defense for most of the season and for parts of the second half od the year his running back group was injured.
Recently I have seen a statistic from social media posters that were trying to point out that Geno Smith wasn't good on intermediate throws in 2022. That seems like picking and choosing the statistics a person might find to reinforce one's own belief but that doesn't tell the overall story of Smith's play. Geno Smith was a good quarterback overall last season and most statistics bear that out.
Smith was ninth-best in short passes (0-9 yards) and had 3 touchdown passes compared to 1 interception. In passes targeting receivers 20 yards downfield or deeper, Smith was the top-ranked passer as PFF gave him a grade of 99.9 (3 points better than second-place Joe Burrow). On those types of throws, Smith had 14 touchdown passes against just 2 interceptions. That number of touchdown passes also led all quarterbacks.
But in 2023, Smith should have better blocking in front of him, and he has more help at running back after Seattle drafted Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh. Seattle also added Smith-Njigba through the draft to add to Metcalf and Lockett. Plus the entire core of the tight end group returns. Smith won't be as good as he was in 2022, he will be better in 2023.