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Raiders OC Chip Kelly is putting everyone on a skill Geno Smith has that doesn't get talked about enough

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Justin Churchill | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 9:10 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders have tried to get a quarterback to be the franchise guy for some time now. Gardner Minshew, who's now on the Kansas City Chiefs, Jimmy Garoppolo, who's now on the Los Angeles Rams, and even others have all tried but failed.

And seeing them all fail, has to give you a sense of respect towards Derek Carr, who, no, he wasn't the best franchise guy, and on many occasions was bad. But you respect that he was able to be the franchise guy for so long. Now it's Geno Smith, the former Seattle Seahawks QB, and a guy who has all of the talent in the world when you watch the tape.

And it's not just the arm with Smith. It's leadership, having been there and done that. It's also the fact that this guy has been at the top of the world in the sport, outside of winning football, but he's also been at the bottom, as a career backup for many, many years.

But there is also one more thing that Smith brings to the table that doesn't quite get talked about enough -- the guy is better with his legs than people give him credit for.

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"The beauty of Geno is that Geno has been in multiple systems now, and there's a lot of things Geno can do. I don't think you can just pigeonhole him. I think he runs better than people really give him credit for. You look at the two-minute drive against the 49ers at the end of the game, and he runs it in for the winner. I think he can beat you with his feet. He can keep plays alive with his feet," OC Chip Kelly told reporters.

"He's extremely accurate. He gets the ball out of his hand quickly. He can be a movement guy, but he can also be a dropback guy, and Pete [Carroll] and Greg Olson, our quarterback coach, had a great understanding because they've coached him for such a long time. And what we saw in terms of Pete's evaluation, Oli's [Greg Olson] evaluation of him is what I've seen here. I think whatever we fit into schematically offensively, I think Geno can handle all that."

#Raiders OC Chip Kelly

I think he runs better than people give him credit for…he can beat you with his feet and keep the play alive with his feet

Noted his accuracy being off the charts…said Geno can handle anything scheme wise
— Jesse Merrick (@JesseNews3LV) May 29, 2025

Now, the Raiders didn't get Lamar Jackson 2.0, or even a Jalen Hurts 2.0, two guys who run the ball at the position but do it very differently. Smith is nothing like those guys -- he can't go 0-20 miles per hour in the blink of an eye like those guys can, and he certainly doesn't have the lower body strength that those guys have.

But, Smith does have better feet than people think, like Kelly said, especially when it comes to his ability to avoid pressure, whether that be in the pocket or on the run, out of the pocket. Smith has the ability to use his legs better than guys like Aidan O'Connell and certainly better than Jimmy Garoppolo.

But hey, as long as he wins football games I guess it doesn't matter how, right?

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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