Seattle Seahawks' Geno Smith Playing Like a Top 5 QB in the NFL

Through Week 2, there are very few quarterbacks playing better than the Seahawks' Geno Smith. The numbers prove it.

kSep 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) walks off of the field after a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

For the second straight week to open the 2024 season, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith looked sharp and in command of Ryan Grubb's high-flying offense. The Seahawks are sitting at 2-0 and a lot of credit goes to Smith's poise and accuracy.

After two weeks of NFL action, where does Geno rank among NFL quarterbacks? Last week, we ranked him 11th after a slow first half against the Broncos. With how he performed on Sunday, it's safe to say Smith has entered the top 10. Let's dive into some stats and metrics that suggest Smith is a top-10 level quarterback at the moment.

ESPN QBR (71.5): T-4th

Smith shoots up the leaderboard for QBR after a solid game against the Patriots. He is now in top 5 territory. He ranked seventh in QBR for Week 2 action with a 73.1 mark. He is tied for fourth with the resurgent Sam Darnold in Minnesota.

Passer rating (97.4): 7th

Smith was very efficient against the Patriots despite a high volume of throws (44). He completed 33 passes and would have had more if not for five drops by pass-catchers.

PFF Grade (83.9): 3rd

Pro Football Focus has been very high on Geno Smith for a while now. As of now, only Derek Carr and Kyler Murray have a better PFF grade than Smith. He had a sparkling 83.1 grade for the Patriots game as a whole.

Turnover Worthy Play Rate (0.0): T-1st

Among 32 quarterbacks with at least 25 dropbacks, Smith is one of just three signal callers without a single turnover-worthy play to this point. Smith has been very smart with the ball and rarely, if ever, puts the ball in danger. The only times the ball was put in harms way was when Smith was being physically hit by the defense. Thus far, Smith has been one of the most efficient and turnover-averse quarterbacks in the NFL.

Expected Points Added (EPA): 1st

For those who need a rundown of what EPA is, it is "a stat that measures how well a team performs compared to their expectation on a play-by-play basis." Geno Smith is the best QB in the NFL right now in performance against his team's average expectation. He is one of the most valuable players to his team's success in the league.

Adjusted Completion Percentage (84.8): 3rd

This metric takes into account drops by the quarterback's pass-catchers. Smith was plagued by drops against New England. This season, the Seahawks have dropped five passes from Smith (all against the Patriots). Take those out of the equation and Smith has the third-best completion percentage in the entire league.

Average Depth of Target (7.8): 12th

This stat is a good indicator of how aggressive a quarterback is downfield. Smith racked up 33 completions against the Patriots and not all of them were quick-hitting, easy throws. Smith pushed the offense downfield at times, especially with that 56-yard touchdown strike to DK Metcalf. His 12th-place ranking is an indicator he isn't putting up these efficient metrics with easy, short throws all the time. There was a good mixture of short, easy passes and challenging the Patriots downfield.

Seahawks on SI QB Ranking: 3rd

1. Derek Carr, NOLA

2. Kyler Murray, ARI

3. Geno Smith, SEA

4. Sam Darnold, MIN

5. Josh Allen, BUF

6. Baker Mayfield, TB

7. C.J. Stroud, HOU

8. Patrich Mahomes, KC

9. Brock Purdy, SF

10. Justin Herbert, LAC