Jets' Geno Smith receives benefit of the doubt despite a down year

Whatever your expectations are for Geno Smith, the consensus among New York Jets fans is seemingly that the team could do far worse at quarterback.

You take what you can get from the Jets. 

At this stage in his career, Smith is a stopgap quarterback. Even if the Jets get a league-average season from the two-time Pro Bowler, the trade would be a success. 

And while Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick certainly don’t see Smith lighting up scoreboards, they’re not as down on him as you’d think.

The duo ranked Smith the No. 26 quarterback, though they surprisingly focused far more on context — including the Raiders’ dreadful offensive line that he played behind last year — than simply citing PFF’s analytics.

“His decision-making was often questionable as he tried to avoid pressure, but a move to New York could alleviate that issue,” Wasserman and Chadwick wrote.

Pro Football Focus considered the Jets’ 2025 offensive line to be No. 9 in pass-blocking and No. 15 in pressure rate allowed.

Pro Football Focus surprisingly isn’t down on Geno Smith

What’s especially interesting is that Smith ranked ahead of the Raiders’ Kirk Cousins, the Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa, and the Titans’ Cam Ward.

Cousins, like Smith, is a veteran potentially on his last legs. Both are short-term options for rebuilding teams, and No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza could replace Cousins during the season.

The Jets do not have a first-round quarterback waiting in the wings behind Smith, though hype is mounting about fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik. 

Tagovailoa battled injuries throughout his six years in Miami, but he’s nonetheless an accomplished quarterback. Yet, PFF apparently has more faith in Smith, perhaps because of the Jets’ offensive line.

Then there’s Ward, last year’s No. 1 pick. Ward placed third among the sophomore quarterbacks, trailing the Saints’ Tyler Shough (No. 24) and the Giants’ Jaxson Dart (No. 25).

Even those who despise the Titans would likely agree that they’d rather have Ward than Smith. At least, you’d hope they’d feel that way. 

Credit to Wasserman and Chadwick for being objective and taking the overall situations into account, rather than relying solely on the inexact science of PFF grades.

Tagovailoa and Cousins have both been trending downward, though the latter turns 38 in August and has plenty of mileage. Wasserman and Chadwick didn’t mention the Titans' Robert Saleh hire, but that alone could be bad news for Ward’s development.

Imagine telling someone a few years ago that, come 2026, Geno Smith would rank higher on a quarterback list than Kirk Cousins or Tua Tagovailoa. 

For their sake, the Jets had better hope Smith is the only one of the three with a winning record.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow