Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Seahawks QB Geno Smith hasn’t blinked in the face of low expectations

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 10/25/22

Geno Smith continues to defy the odds.

Per The Athletic's preseason tiered QB rankings, Smith was all by himself in "Tier 5," which was defined as a quarterback who "is best suited as a backup." He was 35th out of the 35 signal-callers ranked.

He didn't fare better in preseason QB rankings from CBS Sports (No. 29) and NFL.com (No. 27).

Before this season, there were doubts if Smith would even be the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks after the team brought in Drew Lock in the Russell Wilson trade to Denver. The Ringer labeled the Smith-Lock competition as one of the "Top 10 Saddest NFL Quarterback Competitions of the Century."

When it was announced Smith won the starting job, people weren't much higher on his potential.

After the team's Week 1 win over Denver, Smith made it known he kept receipts.

.@GenoSmith3 said it! #DENvsSEA

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/Qx1rCHniOx
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2022

"They wrote me off; I ain't write back, though," he told reporter Lisa Salters.

He's been changing the script with every performance since.

The league is littered with the bones and ghosts of teams and players getting hot for a game or two only to snap back to reality (Matt Flynn, anyone?). Smith was expected to revert to the player he was in New York and remind us why the Jets moved on from him in the first place.

Instead, he looks the best he has since he was QB for the West Virginia Mountaineers and has the Seahawks (4-3) and in sole possession of first in the NFC West

Through Week 7, Smith grades as the fourth-best passer in the league, per Pro Football Focus. His grade of 83.6 is his best as a full-time starter. The last time he was in this role was during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, when he ranked 34th out of 41 quarterbacks (2013) and 32nd out of 37 quarterbacks (2014), per PFF.

His passer rating (107.7) is third best, trailing only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. He's the only quarterback in football in the top 10 in touchdown percentage (No. 8) and lowest interception percentage (T-No. 6). He's been a singular force and a huge reason why Seattle is as competitive as it is this late into the season.

Maybe The Athletic was right in its evaluation, after all. Smith is in a class of his own.

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