Fantasy Football Week 2 Quarterback Preview: Growing concerns about Geno Smith

I’m generally pretty skeptical about 32-year-olds breaking out. But after the Seahawks drafted Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Round 1, it was hard not to get excited about Geno Smith. Smith was genuinely good last year and now had one of the most talented wide receiver trios in the NFL. What could go wrong?

Well, they could lose to the Rams in Week 1, Smith could lose both of his starting tackles and the offense could look completely anemic. Now, it’s easy to remember that Smith was a journeyman backup quarterback who had thrown for 1,346 yards and more interceptions than touchdowns in the seven seasons before 2022. While he was outstanding last year, you’ll generally make a profit betting against career years from 32-year-olds. 

• Week 2 previews: TE | RB | WR

My concern also has to do with the circumstances. Smith was at home against a Rams defense that we thought was going to be bad this year. He had DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Smith-Njigba, and Kenneth Walker all healthy. There was no reason to expect such a severe dropoff from his 2022 level of play other than the fact that 2022 was the only year Smith had been that good.

He draws the Lions this week, which is a defense we just don’t know much about yet. We believe it is better than it was last year, but we don’t know enough to say if it is actually good. If Smith is going to bounce back, this is a fine place to do it. If he doesn’t, we can really start worrying.

Let’s get to the rest of the preview:

Week 2 QB Preview

• 2 — Brock Purdy has thrown at least two touchdown passes in every regular season game he’s started in the NFL. 
• 38.1% — Daniel Jones was pressured on 38% of his drop backs against Dallas. The Giants will hope that number is significantly lower against the Cardinals.
• 13.5% — 13.5% of Patrick Mahomes’ passes were dropped on Thursday night. Kadarius Toney was the main culprit.
• 33% — A third of Joe Burrow’s Week 1 passes were rated as bad throws by Pro Football Reference. That number was 12.9% last year.
• 53 — Josh Allen has 53 turnovers since the start of 2020, the most in the NFL.
• 7,922 — Tua Tagovailoa is on pace for 7,922 passing yards. That would be a record.

My full set of Week 1 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 1. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.