New group of Geno Smith doubters reveals itself as Jets hate keeps growing

Many decided to mock the New York Jets for their pursuit of quarterback Geno Smith after his terrible 2025 season, and some voices with sway across the league have joined the cacophony of haters.

In The Athletic's coach-and-executive-led ranking of 35 quarterbacks across the NFL, Smith came in 30th overall, ranking in the bottom of their four available tiers.

Career backup Malik Willis, a veteran in Kirk Cousins whom many in the fanbase don't even want to start, and the perpetually injured Tua Tagovailoa are some of the quarterbacks ranked above Smith. Doubting Geno makes sense after how bad he was in 2025, but putting him that low on any ranking list comes across as a bit harsh.

New York Jets QB Geno Smith ranked 30th of 35 quarterbacks in NFL

To be fair to Smith, who ranked 19th in this exercise last year, coaches reportedly liked him more than executives. "Geno got a bad rap," one coach said. "He was getting murdered out there.” Another said that last year "wasn’t fair" and that he will give him the benefit of the doubt by keeping him in the same tier as last year,

Smith had moments where he appeared to be a fringe Top 10 quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks, flexing tremendous deep accuracy and playmaking out of structure. As horrid as he was with the Las Vegas Raiders last season, is it really fair to discount the seasons he had before 2025?

Even though part of the reason Smith returned was the lack of quality options on the market, the Jets are of the mindset that pairing him with an offense that is entirely under contract through the 2027 season will be enough to get him back on track. At least he won't have fringe NFL wide receivers in starting roles and an offensive line that was getting bullied every play.

Smith has been impressing so far in training camp, showing off great accuracy and developing great chemistry with Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell. Once you throw Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, and Omar Cooper Jr. into the mix, there is a very clear path to success the Jets can follow.

Smith's stock within the NFL is at an all-time low, as his age and recent implosion with the Raiders have very few believing he is going to be the one who gets this team around. If Smith is able to properly harness all of that doubt and turn it into fuel, he could be in line for a major resurgence that proves the doubters wrong.

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