Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Caleb Williams

Monday, March 10, 10:23 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders surprisingly acquired quarterback Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks last Friday in exchange for a third-round pick in this year's draft and are now likely to reward him with a long-term contract extension that he was hoping the Seahawks would give him, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The addition of Smith doesn't necessarily mean the Raiders won't take a rookie signal-caller with the seventh overall pick in this year's draft, but it's probably much less likely now that they've addressed the most important position in football for the foreseeable future. The 34-year-old Smith was a Pro Bowler in 2022 and 2023 in Seattle and threw for 4,320 yards, 21 TDs and 15 interceptions in 17 games last year. He is going from a receiving corps of DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett to Jakobi Meyers and tight end Brock Bowers, so it's a downgrade in terms of weapons. Depending on what else the Raiders do in free agency and the draft, Smith profiles as a midrange QB2, at best, heading into 2025.

Tuesday, January 21, 1:29 PM

The Athletic's Dan Pompei believes that new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson will likely empower quarterback Caleb Williams heading into his second year in the NFL after an up-and-down rookie campaign. Johnson gave QB Jared Goff authority with protection adjustments that not all signal-callers have while serving as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, in addition to eliminating plays that Goff didn't like. Johnson was also a big proponent of going for it on fourth down, so the Bears offense should be much more aggressive under Williams in 2025. It's the main reason why Johnson was Chicago's top pick to be their next head coach. Despite plenty of weapons on offense in 2024, Williams was one of the worst downfield passers in his rookie season and had a 62.5% completion percentage to finish as the QB16 in fantasy. The addition of Johnson will surely make Williams a popular breakout candidate in 2025.