“With the 39th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select Geno Smith, Quarterback, West Virginia.”\u00a0 As former Jets star Wayne Chrebet read out the pick, Radio City Music Hall exploded with mixed emotions.\u00a0 There was an immediate roar of excitement from Jets fans, followed by a myriad of “boos.”\u00a0 Some of the cheers were exhilaration that there’s finally someone in camp that can outperform Mark Sanchez.\u00a0 Some of the “boos” were fans who listen to Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper bashing Geno Smith throughout the process.\u00a0 Like Smith said in his conference the day after he was selected “Critics don’t get picks.”\u00a0 Smith is a 22 year old kid with loads of potential and the Jets organization sees something in this player that they couldn’t pass up in the 2nd round.<\/p>\n
Smith slipped into the second round where the Jets thought that he was a good value pick.\u00a0 He won’t be getting paid an overwhelming amount of money, he’ll have less pressure, and most importantly he’ll have a chip on his shoulder to prove that he is the top QB in this draft.\u00a0 The Jets won’t throw him into the starting spotlight right away.\u00a0 He will share reps with the other 4 QBs and gradually get to learn the system.\u00a0 If the Jets are serious about making Smith their new franchise QB, he needs to sit and learn under David Garrard’s mentoring.\u00a0 If Garrard can stay healthy, he should be the Jets starter Week 1.\u00a0 The Jets will be best to take a page out of the Green Bay book (having Aaron Rodgers sit and learn before throwing him into the fire) and let Smith learn and be brought along slowly.<\/p>\n
Marty Mornhinweg, in his post\u00a0draft interview,\u00a0seemed very excited to have Geno Smith, along with OL Brian Winters, and the newly acquired RB Chris Ivory (via trade with the New Orleans Saints).\u00a0 He mentioned that Smith is intelligent, and hard working.\u00a0 They got a good feel for this having taken him out to dinner prior to his pro day and then watching his pro day workout.\u00a0 Mornhinweg, although he praised his pro day workout, made it clear that the game film\u00a0is what they looked at and what they liked about Geno Smith and he thinks he can be a dynamic piece of his offense in the future.<\/p>\n
Whether the future is now or next year or even the year after that is yet to be determined.\u00a0 Smith has a great deal to work on.\u00a0 He needs to grasp a sense of the playbook and terminology, which often times is the biggest hurdle for any rookie quarterback.\u00a0 He also has to get used to his new QB Coach David Lee.\u00a0 The biggest concern with Smith is his ball security.\u00a0 When pressured or when the pocket collapses, he tends to keep the ball a bit too low.\u00a0 In the NFL, good pass rushers will bat that away from him and it will lead to a lot of fumbles.\u00a0 He’ll have to learn to keep the ball high and if he feels pressure, tuck the ball away and take the sack.\u00a0 After two years of 52 combined turnovers by current starter Mark Sanchez, there’s no doubt Mornhinweg and Lee will preach ball security with\u00a0all of the\u00a0quarterbacks in camp.<\/p>\n
Another concern with Smith is his ability to get through his progression of receivers.\u00a0 For instance, when his first option is covered, will he be able to get to his second and third read quick enough to hit the open receiver.\u00a0 There is concern that mentally he gets frustrated often and it affects his play.\u00a0 His body language on the sidelines sometimes isn’t the best, but as Geno said, it’s frustration in himself because he knows how good he can be and he just wants to win.\u00a0 This will definitely be something he will learn because he is a very hardworking and meticulous player, but it may take time.<\/p>\n
There are many reasons to love this pick from the Jets, as well.\u00a0 Smith threw for 42 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions last year<\/a>.\u00a0 In his career at West Virginia he threw for an astounding 98 touchdown passes and only 21 interceptions<\/a>.\u00a0 People could say that he fit the West Virginia system or was a “product of the system,” but he still had to find and hit the open receivers consistently and numbers like that don’t lie.\u00a0 He had two stud WRs that helped him in Tavon Austin and Steadman Bailey<\/a>, both dynamic players who will now play for the St. Louis Rams.\u00a0 Smith’s size, arm strength, his ability to throw the deep ball, and his decision making\u00a0have improved throughout his college career and could only get better from there.<\/p>\n Another reason the Jets feel that he can learn and run the West Coast Offense Mornhinweg has installed, is because at West Virginia he ran\u00a092 plays per game on average<\/a>.\u00a0 He did this for three full seasons as the quarterback, something the Jets current starter never did.\u00a0 He was in charge of reading a defense pre-snap, directing his players where to line up and what play to run, and found the open guys.\u00a0 He was smart enough to always take what the defense was giving him.\u00a0 In a West Coast offense, the quarterback must be patient and do that because that will eventually set up the deep ball down the field.\u00a0 The Jets current QB struggled with this concept throughout his career.<\/p>\n Smith’s overall athleticism makes him an exciting pick for the Jets.\u00a0 He ran the 40 yard dash in 4.59 seconds<\/a>.\u00a0 He’s able to extend plays with his feet, something that any good NFL quarterback must be able to do at this level.\u00a0 He has a quick release and can make all the NFL throws, but will need to continue to work on his arm strength and accuracy down the field, as would any incoming rookie quarterback.\u00a0 Judging on his post draft news conference (Geno Smith interview<\/a>), he is going to work hard and he is motivated to succeed.\u00a0 As he said in the interview, he realizes he may not start right away, but he’s out to prove that he is a franchise quarterback.<\/p>\n The worst case scenario for the Jets is if Geno Smith isn’t the franchise quarterback, there’s always next year’s prospect.\u00a0 With Mark Sanchez likely to be cut, whether it be a post-June 1 cut, or after the 2013 season, the Jets will be left with Smith as the only quarterback on the roster.\u00a0 They will need to draft another quarterback next year regardless, whether it is a first rounder to challenge Smith\u00a0or a 4th round back up for Smith.\u00a0 The pressure to start a second round pick is a lot less than if the Jets selected him at #13 overall.<\/p>\n Geno Smith was just a piece of the overall picture and “plan” that John Idzik has installed and thus far, it has worked out for the organization.It will be an interesting few months leading up to training camp, but one thing’s for sure…\u00a0 John Idzik has set this team up not only to compete in 2013, but to have depth like the Jets have never had before.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “With the 39th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select Geno Smith, Quarterback, West Virginia.”\u00a0 As former Jets star Wayne Chrebet read out the pick, Radio City Music Hall exploded with mixed emotions.\u00a0 There was an immediate roar of excitement from Jets fans, followed by a myriad of “boos.”\u00a0 Some of 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