Seahawks' Geno Smith disrespected in one ranking in favor of Russell Wilson

There is little argument about who is the best quarterback in Seattle Seahawks history. That is Russell Wilson. He had far more sustained success than any other QB. He also helped bring the franchise its only Super Bowl ring.

Geno Smith has been a solid starter, though some will never see him as anything more than a backup, since the beginning of 2022. Has he thrown too many interceptions this season? Sure. But not all of his picks have been his fault as some have simply bounced off the hands of his receivers.

There should be no question that the chemistry between Smith and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is certainly making them one of the best quarterback-receiver combinations in the NFL, however. At the same time, Wilson has only played seven games with his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, but ESPN thinks that is enough time to rank Wilson ahead of Smith and JSN in one category.

ESPN ranks Steelers' Russell Wilson and George Pickens higher than Seahawks' Geno Smith and Jaxon Smith-Njigba

That category is the top 20 quarterback-receiver duos of this season. Seven games seem like a low number to be sure that Wilson is teaming up with any of his receivers well, but the four-letter network believes Wilson and George Pickens are a better due than Smith and JSN.

Why? Who knows, other than ESPN probably just has a bias against the Seahawks since Seattle is way out in the Pacific Northwest. No statistical data proves Wilson-Pickens is better than Smith-JSN.

Heck, even the ESPN write-up ranking Wilson and Pickens as the seventh-best duo - yes, seventh-best - doesn't make it appear as if they believe they are correct. ESPN's Dan Orlovsky writes, "When the Wilson and Pickens connection is strong, this Steelers offense scores. When it isn't, the offense does not. It's that simple." And adds, "The 487 total yards between the two might seem low..."

In the seven games Wilson and Pickens have played together, the receiver has averaged 81.2 receiving yards per game. In the past six games, Smith-Njigba has averaged 98.7 yards per game. While Wilson-Pickens has been good, Smith-JSN has been recently great and one of the huge reasons Seattle has won four straight games.

Smith and Smith-Njigba don't actually appear in the rankings until number 14. Maybe the newness of JSN's ascension to greatness just hasn't been noticed enough yet. The top-ranked duo, by the way, is unsurprisingly Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals.

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