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.

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2027 OFFSEASON

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Although over $100M in dead cap is coming off the books, the New York Jets have plenty of tough decisions to make during the 2027 offseason. Deciding which of these decisions is the most important may shape the direction the organization takes.

Your choice changes this single-scenario snapshot. A release or trade opens a roster spot; a restructure creates current-year room at a future cost; a fifth-year option decision looks one year further ahead.

These are alternatives, not a sequence of moves. The opening effective cap is the current simulator package’s $99.23M total room minus $19.70M net draft reserve. The figures are projections, not a live team ledger.

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.