NFL power rankings: Ranking all starting quarterbacks ahead of Week 5

14. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

I’m a bit lower on Geno Smith than most QBs and think he’s nothing more than an average player at best.  He’s thrown at least one interception in three of four games this year and has thrown four touchdowns against four picks in 2024.  His passer rating has gradually declined from his breakout 2022 season where he apparently didn’t write back.

The Seattle Seahawks are 3-1 but have played three easy opponents thus far and lost against their first true test of the 2024 NFL Season.  Geno Smith’s ceiling will keep Seattle from reaching where every team ultimately wants to go, but he’s good enough for the new coaching staff to get a good reading on what players they feel comfortable keeping around for the long-term.

I would not be surprised to see Seattle target a QB in the 2025 NFL Draft, and some rumblings indicated they wanted a first-round QB in the 2024 NFL Draft.  Smith is well into his 30s and is in that tier of guys like Derek Carr and Andy Dalton.  He’s fine; he’s capable enough to sometimes help his team to victory but isn’t going to be much more than that, so him being 14 in these power rankings feels accurate.

13. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott is not the issue for the Dallas Cowboys.  He’s still a very good QB and is always going to throw for a ton of yards and touchdowns.  Dallas simply cannot stop the run and don’t have an efficient run game themselves.  They also don’t really have a viable WR2 option behind CeeDee Lamb, so this team is extremely top-heavy.

Both Lamb and Prescott got long-term deals this offseason, so I guess that’s a good team, but Dallas feels more average than anything else, and if they ultimately fail to field a competent rushing attack in the 2024 NFL Season, that’s going to put a ton of pressure on Prescott, so I would not be shocked to see his numbers take a hit a bit simply because they are too Dak-reliant