Overall, the New York Jets could not have realistically asked for more out of starting quarterback Geno Smith through four games.

Here are some of Smith’s numbers and rankings among 29 qualified quarterbacks through four games:

  • 81.5% adjusted completion percentage (1st)
  • 109.0 passer rating (4th)
  • 0.126 adjusted EPA per play (13th)
  • 60.5 QBR (14th)
  • 6.3 net yards per attempt (16th)
  • 4.3% touchdown pass rate (17th)
  • 0.0% interception rate (1st)

Any team would sign up for those numbers from a soon-to-be 36-year-old stopgap quarterback with a $3.3 million cap hit.

Even so, it feels like the Jets could be getting more out of Smith, and one simple tweak could allow that remaining untapped potential to be unlocked.

JET XFront Office
2027 OFFSEASON · OCT 27

What’s your first offseason move?

Opening roster · Choose one move

Effective cap$78.58MStarting snapshot
Roster41Starting snapshot
2027 picks9Starting snapshot
Choose one to see the results.

The thinking behind the decision

Set the direction.
Own the decision.

Start with an in-house decision. Keep the roster intact, bring Geno Smith back, or move on from one of the listed veterans. Each choice changes the same opening snapshot; choices do not stack inside this poll.

Re-signing Smith requires a new contract. A release creates dead money, and a trade needs another club to agree. The offers here are prepared scenarios, not reports or guaranteed outcomes.

October 27 draft-order update: $97.13M projected total cap room minus $18.56M net draft reserve = $78.58M effective room; 41 signed players and 9 picks. Financial inputs remain the October 24 reviewed 2027 projections. Unreported contract terms are not invented.

How the Jets can get more out of Geno Smith

Through four weeks, Smith has usually been asked to operate out of traditional dropbacks without play action. According to Pro Football Focus, just 23.4% of Smith’s dropbacks included a play fake, ranking 24th out of 33 quarterbacks.

Pumping that number up would be a wise move for the offense.

“But their run game stinks!”, you might be thinking. And you’re right: The Jets rank 30th with 3.4 yards per rush attempt. Maybe play action is a fool’s errand when the average Jets rush attempt barely travels 10 feet past the line of scrimmage.

Not exactly.

Even with the Jets’ stagnant run game, Smith has been excellent out of play action, completing 22 of 30 passes for 278 yards (0 TD, 0 INT). Out of 33 qualifiers, he ranks fourth in yards per attempt (9.3) and sixth in adjusted completion percentage (85.2%) when using play action.

Perhaps you’re thinking that Smith has been solid regardless of whether or not the Jets call play action, so there might not be much to gain by using more play action while New York’s run game is struggling so much.

Once again, reality defies conventional wisdom. Smith has actually benefited from play action more than most quarterbacks.

Per PFF, Smith is averaging 2.1 more yards per pass attempt with play action (9.3) than without (7.2), the seventh-largest disparity in the league:

  1. Lamar Jackson (+4.8)
  2. Drew Lock (+3.8)
  3. Aaron Rodgers (+3.7)
  4. Kyler Murray (+3.6)
  5. Kirk Cousins (+3.4)
  6. Jameis Winston (+3.2)
  7. Geno Smith (+2.1)

Thus, it seems like the Jets would be wise to consider jacking up Smith’s play action rate in upcoming weeks.

One of the most common misconceptions about the NFL is that a successful run game is required for the play action passing game to work. This is consistently disproven. Defenders are always prone to fall for play fakes no matter how well the run game has performed.

Look no further than the aforementioned list of the top seven quarterbacks who have seen the largest Y/A boost when using play action this year. Of the seven, only two play for a team that currently ranks top 16 in yards per rush attempt: Jackson and Lock.

Meanwhile, Rodgers, Murray, Cousins, Winston, and Smith all play for teams that are averaging under 4.0 yards per rush attempt this season (ranking 19th or worse). Cousins even plays for a Raiders team that ranks last with 3.1 yards per rush attempt, yet, he has thrown a league-high six touchdown passes out of play action (with no interceptions).

Certain quarterbacks benefit greatly from play action regardless of whether it is backed up by a thriving run game. Smith is one of them. The Jets would be smart to lean into that moving forward.