The New York Jets know that Geno Smith is not their franchise quarterback.
However, they are hoping the 36-year-old’s veteran experience can stabilize an offense that would be thrilled to merely achieve its first top-16 ranking in scoring since 2015.
Based on one advanced metric, it appears that Smith’s vet savvy is truly an asset in his game.
Pro Football Focus recently published an analysis of the top quarterbacks on “zero-graded” throws in the 2025 season. What does this mean? Well, essentially, PFF’s film analysts grade every throw on a -2 to 2 scale, with half-point increments. A -2 throw would be the most ghastly interception you’ve ever seen, while a 2 might be an under-pressure, on-the-run, 50-yard bomb dropped perfectly into tight coverage.
That means a zero-graded throw is as “by the books” as it gets. Think a checkdown behind clean pass protection or an uncontested slant off an RPO.
As PFF describes it: “The throws that land exactly on 0 are, by design, unremarkable. There is no exceptional decision. You won’t see it on a highlights show or the condensed-game replay. A zero-graded throw is the ‘control group’ of quarterback play — simply a quarterback doing his job, making a play that an NFL quarterback would be expected to make.”
Smith was one of the NFL’s most efficient passers on these plays in 2025, even in a down year with the Las Vegas Raiders.
According to PFF, Smith averaged -0.009 EPA (Expected Points Added) per attempt on zero-graded throws, ranking eighth-best in the NFL:
- Josh Allen (0.173)
- Jared Goff (0.090)
- Daniel Jones (0.052)
- Drake Maye (0.046)
- Kyler Murray (0.028)
- Matthew Stafford (0.001)
- Mac Jones (0.000)
- Geno Smith (-0.009)
Essentially, it shows that Smith was effective at the boring, nitty-gritty fundamentals: operating the scheme as intended and taking checkdowns when the situation calls for it.
PFF described the evaluation of zero-graded throws as follows: “Removing the extraordinary — for better or worse — leaves a cleaner look at how quarterbacks and offenses operate within the scheme’s structure. It becomes less a study of football’s most unremarkable throws and more a study of efficiency: how consistently quarterbacks execute what’s asked of them, how offenses create production through design and how those two elements work together to generate successful plays.”
This is precisely the area of the game where you expect a 36-year-old bridge starter to thrive. You know he isn’t going to rush for 500 yards. You know he isn’t going to break sacks and make incredible throws on the run. You know he isn’t going to fire lasers into tight windows.
You just expect him to do the “boring” stuff right.
For many years, the Jets haven’t had a quarterback who could even do that correctly. Save for one season of Aaron Rodgers, the Jets have dealt with quarterbacks who struggled with the simplest aspects of the position, like Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, and a young Sam Darnold. It drastically lowered the offense’s floor, making it difficult for the Jets to sniff even just league-average scoring.
But with Smith under center, it appears that New York can finally trust in someone to do the simple things correctly more often than not. It doesn’t mean the Jets might suddenly light the NFL on fire, but perhaps for once, their offense won’t constantly light itself on fire.
