Silver And Black Pride
Geno Smith is coming off a relatively similar year to his standards of recent, having posted an average of 16.5 fantasy points per game last season (15.2 in 2023 and 17.9 in 2022). During his time with the Seahawks, Smith appeared in 50 career games, where he often struggled when playing outdoors tossing 43 TD and 31 INT with an 89.7 QBR. Despite this, in his 14 games played indoors he posted 30 TD, 5 INT, and an elite 110.8 QBR.
Smith is coming into a fresh start with a new Raiders offense, one that is designed to heavily target the tight end and throw the ball deep. Ohio State ranked 28th nationally in pass yards/game and 4th in pass attempts over 15 yards. Additionally, Chip Kelly made an emphasis during his time at UCLA and the Eagles to get the tight end involved, and luckily for him and the Raiders they have an elite one with 2nd year TE Brock Bowers.
Last season, Smith was 5th in deep ball attempts with 68 (4/game), 5th in protection rate (85.5%), 8th in air yards (4027 yards), 5th in Big Time Throws (17), and 1st in accuracy (70.2%). Smith did struggle with turnovers last season, leading the NFL in interceptions while also ranking near the lowest in the NFL for danger plays, turnover worthy plays, and interceptable passes. A key reason could be related to the Seahawks bottom 8 ranked offensive line in pass protection, where Smith was pressured the 5th most among all QBs.
Smith is currently sitting at an average draft position (ADP) of 172, and the 20th ranked QB. In terms of fantasy football, Geno Smith does not profile higher than a backup QB and a low end 2nd starter if in dual QB leagues. The Raiders offense is slightly unknown, and how often the offense will turn away from Ashton Jeanty, especially in the red zone, is a massive mark towards how effective Geno Smith will be in fantasy football this season.
