As I sat down, and watched the John Harbaugh vs Pete Carroll on Monday Night Football, as I am sure a high percentage of other Seahawk fans did, I was left with the distinct impression of PTSD watching Geno Smith, on the very first play of the game, force a bad throw into coverage for an interception. Geno would go on through this game forcing numerous other passes into unfavorable coverage, ending the game with 3 interceptions, 0 touchdowns on 24 of 43 passing attempts for 180 yards and the league’s worst passer rating over the weekend. He could have had even more interceptions on the night with the amount of turnover worthy throws he tossed.

Now, I do not want to put too much into one game, and I think it is possible that this could be the year that Justin Herbert and the Chargers finally overtake Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the AFC West division, and Geno Smith could have a nice bounce back game this weekend, but I will also say that I have watched a lot of Geno Smith over the past few years, and the game he had on Monday Night was symbolic of why I was okay with Seattle trading him off into the loving arms of Pete Carroll. That game felt like the type of Geno Smith game he has when things go awry against a quality defense.

When things get tough against a good defenses, I’ve often seen him get impatient with the football, wanting to force things downfield instead of taking the simple underneaths, and when turnovers and sacks generate through the course of the game, and they are losing badly in the fourth quarter, I’ve seen many camera shots showing him sulking on the bench in a manner that maybe you don’t want to see out of your team leader, as was the case last night in Vegas, yet again. This is what Geno is prone to in games against strong opponents.

Now, I don’t know about you, different people are into different things, but one of the things I really loved about watching peak Russell Wilson in Seattle was his innate ability to stay calm and neutral under immense pressure packed situations. He wasn’t always perfect as a passer in games such as this, but I think his ability to keep his emotions in check helped Seattle win a bunch of high pressure games through the course of his time here. In the three years that I watched Geno as his replacement, I never got that same sense, and often times, I saw the exact opposite, and I say this as a person who regularly defended Geno on this blog.

Geno Smith has world class abilities to throw a football. His arm talent is elite, and he is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the league, even at age 34. There is just an inner composition about him, though, that gives me a lot of pause.

I think the truth about Geno Smith is that, while he might be one of the best pure passers in the league, he comes with maybe the largest scale of arm arrogance; this belief that he can make every highlight level throw he attempts against dicey coverage. Then when shit goes south in games as a result, so does his demeanor, and leadership. The Raiders will win numerous games this year because of his arm talent, but they will, no question, lose games this year because of his tendencies, too.

Conversely, I think the QB situation here in Seattle is an interesting one for the Seahawks, and it is one that I will be willing to stay patient with as the season unfolds. I am not willing to say that Sam Darnold is definitively an upgrade over Geno Smith, or Jalen Milroe is destined to develop into the next Jalen Hurts, but I will say that I really like Seattle’s processing of making a shift at quarterback with the hopes of finding a longer termed solution than the probably felt they had with Geno Smith.

And I totally get it if you are not overly enthusiastic about Sam Darnold, if you have doubts about whether Jalen Milroe can ever blossom into a quality NFL starter, and Drew Lock is an after thought. I understand it if you are going to have a strong eye on the quarterbacks in college this year with a belief that if Seattle ends up with a losing record in 2025, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

I am not here to sway doubters of Darnold and company as to whether Seattle has their long term quarterback already rostered. I am just here to say that I find the quarterback room of these three guys kind of a cool one, and I do have some optimism that someone can emerge, and fit what Mike Macdonald wants at the position long term. All three guys have athletic traits that can work well in a run heavy play action offensive attack. All three guys have some variance of youth on their side. All three guys have multiple years on their deals.

Let me quick profile each one to help explain why I dig ’em as much as I do.

Sam Darnold; his floor is Derek Carr, and his ceiling is Jared Goff

Talent wise, I think Sam Darnold is, in many ways, fairly similar to what Derek Carr was in this league. He’s tall, with a good arm, good mobility, he throws a pretty deep ball, and he can get the ball out on time. With good pieces around him, he can win you games, and get you into the playoffs, and that was proven pretty decisively last season in Minnesota.

Carr never got enough credit that I think he deserved as a NFL quarterback, and I think a lot of that was due to injuries, and being part of a bad Raiders organization. If Carr had been drafted by a better organization with great coaching, like the Rams with McVay, and the 49ers with Shanahan, he could have had a very different outcome in his career, I believe.

At the very least, for a few years, anyways, I think Darnold can have Seattle clicking in a quality game manager role much like Carr was in 2022 with the Raiders when he led them into the playoffs. I also think he can be a lot more here if things really do take off for him in terms of further development, which they might, in fact, do.

As I wrote this, I was very tempted to make the ceiling comp for Darnold that of one Matthew Hasselbeck. Hass was at the same age of 27 in Seattle when the game finally clicked for him after years of struggling. As we know, once the lights came, he enjoyed long a nice run as Seattle’s franchise quarterback, and part of me definitely believes this sort of success can be had for Darnold here with a good support cast around him, and proper coaching.

For the purposes of what Mike Macdonald wants this offense to truly be, however, I think a very fair ceiling comp for Darnold is present day Jared Goff, who I would label as perhaps the best game managing quarterback in the league right now. I think peak Jared Goff is exactly who and what Darnold can be here, if all goes well, with the caveat that Darnold possesses more athleticism that what Goff offers and can therefore do a bit more as a runner.

As we know, Detroit runs a very run heavy offense that relies mostly on building play action passes off of the run. It will be scorched into Seahawk fans’ minds for a long time that MNF game last Fall when Seattle went to Detroit and Goff was a perfect 18 for 18 for 292 yards and 2 TDs.. ALL OFF OF PLAY ACTION PASSES while the Lions ran for 120 yards on the night (talk about PTSD).

Like Goff, Darnold very much wants to function in a play action offense. At this stage, Goff is, by far, the more polished passer, but Darnold probably has the stronger arm, and he definitely has the superior athleticism. All he might need now is a coaching staff who believes in him, and an offense that is tailor built for what he does best as a passer.

While fans can fantasize about the upside of Jalen Milroe, it is very possible that Darnold’s scars in the league are very good scars at this point, nicely built up calluses that help him properly process against the league’s defenses, and he will only get better over time, seeing the game faster, and being more in command of this offense year to year. With an offensive philosophy that suits his strengths, there is a distinct reality out there that he grabs hold of an opportunity, he doesn’t look back, and he has a nice long-ish tenure here.

Drew Lock; his floor is Drew Stanton, and his ceiling is Ryan Tannehill

Drew Lock isn’t much on the mind of most Seattle fans these days. Most are probably more likely to be day dreaming of Jalen Milroe being ready to take over in a year or two, or they are slowly warming up to Darnold more after this nice win on the road against the Steelers, or they are just day dreaming about drafting Arch Manning.

That said, Lock has fans inside the front office of Seattle, and he has a big fan in GM John Schneider. If you were to watch all three of these passers throw in gym shorts throwing against air to receivers, it would be more easy to see why he has front office fans. He very well might have the best pure arm talent out of the three, and he has athletic traits to match it, as well.

The throw he made two years ago, in the fourth quarter against the Eagles, down the sideline to Jaxson Smith Njigba against tight coverage, was high level NFL stuff. He might not ever materialize into a starter again, but I will always remember that throw from him.

It is throws like that one that can have a GM and a coaching staff believing that there is something there in him that can be further developed. It is just that, in his few times as a starter, he can also make throws that leave you wondering what he was even thinking about.

As it stands, I would say that it is a long shot that Drew Lock ever develops into a quality NFL starter, but I do think he can have a long Drew Stanton type of career as a quality backup. This would be a very safe and reasonable floor comp for him.

Years ago, the Arizona Cardinals ended up with Carson Palmer as their QB and they were a royal pain in the ass for the Seahawks and others in the division. Palmer bounced around from Cincinnati to Oakland to AZ before finally having some quality success, and Stanton proved a great backup for him. In games when Stanton played, he played pretty admirably in place of Palmer, I thought. I can see Darnold and Lock having a similar dynamic in Seattle for a while.

I can also see a wee bit of a scenario where Lock takes over for maybe a injured Darnold, and plays well enough in this run centric play action scheme where the coach wants to stick it out with him, and suddenly we have a Tennessee Titan Ryan Tannehill situation from a few years back when free agent Tannehill took over for presumptive starter Marcus Mariota, and then didn’t look back. While I don’t think this is a very likely scenario, you never know.

In 2012, we all know that John Schneider was into drafting Russell Wilson, but he was supposedly also very enamored with Tannehill, and was hoping to draft him in round one, if he fell to Seattle. Tannehill wasn’t the greatest pro, but he had very similar toolsy traits to Lock. He was tall, athletic, with a live arm that could effortlessly flick it downfield.

We know Schneider likes Lock a lot, and he is a great locker room guy. What happens if Darnold gets seriously injured, and Lock steps in and plays well enough to make Seattle a quality playoff team? I dunno, but I suspect that it could make for an interesting offseason.

Jalen Milroe; his floor is Taysom Hill, and his ceiling is Jalen Hurts

I would love to make Jalen Milroe’s ceiling comp that of one Lamar Jackson. It would be really fun to say that, and then try to dream that glorious ceiling into existence. I think we have to be realistic about this rookie, however.

I appreciate it that Milroe appears to have a fan in the head coach, and Mike Macdonald knows what a quality duo threat quarterback does to any defense. Macdonald has seen first hand what Lamar does on Sundays, and he just watched what Jalen Hurts did in the Super Bowl with top defense and run game.

I also think it is somewhat fair to suggest that Milroe could grow to become a quarterback like Jalen Hurts, someday, but it will likely take a lot of work in terms of his development for him to get there. I think it is highly unrealistic to think of him someday becoming Lamar Jackson, however. It would be like me saying that ceiling comp for Sam Darnold is Josh Allen, and that ceiling comp for Drew Lock is Justin Herbert.

I also am dubious to believe that the Kubiak scheme would ever be a proper fit for Milroe. This is a scheme entirely built on timing, accuracy, and anticipation throwing, and I don’t know how much Milroe can consistently ever do that. Peak Russell Wilson had problems doing that, and I think Super Bowl winning Hurts has issues with that, as well.

If he was thrust into the QB1 role right now, Seattle would have to depend even more so on the run game to stay ahead of the chains and away from third and long. Kubiak would probably have to limit his playbook, significantly.

In fact, I sorta believe that, for Milroe to ascend to QB1 in Seattle, and excel at it, the most realistic path might be for Kubiak to leave for a head coaching gig with perhaps Sam Darnold following him via a trade. Maybe then Macdonald would look towards Milroe, and decides to bring in a new offensive coaching staff who would run a Hurts style offense with more emphasis on designed QB runs and run pass option stuff to get Milroe comfortable doing what he naturally does best. In a situation such as this, maybe Milroe excels much like Hurts, and this becomes very exciting stuff for all Seahawk fans moving forward.

I would say, at the very least, while he develops behind the scenes, Milroe can carve out a very vital role in the Seahawks offense as a Taysom Hill style quarterback who comes on the field in short yardage situations, and in change of pace moments. In that, however, I think Kubiak and Macdonald must be smart about it.

I didn’t love how quickly they rolled out with the Milroe Package in the first offensive series against San Fransisco, and his QB draw was immediately snuffed out in result. It felt very forced to me, and ill timed.

I also found it interesting that Seattle chose to make him an inactive player against the Steelers this weekend, opting for tight end AJ Barner to serve in the tush push QB role, instead. It could be a sign that Milroe needs further behind the scenes development just to dependably become a Taysom Hill player for Seattle.

If Seattle someday does simply get Taysom Hill like production out of Milroe, and nothing more, then his selection in the third round last Spring will have been a good one. If he actually does blossom into a quality NFL quarterback, however, then that puts John Schneider into the Hall Of Fame for being able to find two starting quarterbacks for this franchise in round three.

Right now, I think the jury is needs to be appropriately out on him. If Darnold gets unfortunately injured, Drew Lock will be the starter in his place. The team is very clear on that. This is the right way to handle Milroe. He needs a proper redshirting.

But for now, it is fun to dream about what Milroe could someday become here in Seattle, if the window of opportunity ever opens for him, and he grabs hold of it, and never lets go of it. Until then, however, a whole lot of things need to line up for him to get there. We should be real about that.

Closing thoughts

Nobody knows what is going to materialize out of this quarterback room, and I think that is perfectly fine. Seattle is not tied long term to any of these guys, and that is smart.

But I like their processing of punting on Geno Smith and bringing in these guys for a good long look. It seems, tactically, very smart by John Schneider to do this, taking educated gambles that don’t hinder the franchise long term until someone emerges as The Guy.

Personally, I think it would be a huge boost for this team if one of these QBs emerges as the long term answer, though, and I don’t really care which one it is. If I were a betting man right now, I think I would be more apt to wager on Darnold than the others, but let’s see how the whole season goes first.

At the end of the day, I just think it would just be great if we have the position settled, and are annually picking impact players in round one of each draft either for the trenches, or elite skill player athletes. I think this is as good of a way as any to succeed in this league.

Not every great NFL organization is built around a young quarterback who was a high first round pick. Kyle Shanahan has never turned the keys of his offensive off to this type of player. Philly didn’t just win a Super Bowl with one. The Lions are relying on a quality retread QB, and the Rams have never drafted a QB high with McVay as their coach. Coach Holmgren never had one in Green Bay or Seattle with all of his successes. Peak eighties 49ers had a former third round pick leading their team, and nineties 49ers had a first round pick bust who they traded for leading them to titles.

And we all know what happened for the Patriots decades ago when they turned to little known sixth round pick Tom Brady in favor of injured established starter Drew Bledsoe. Rewind to nearly a quarter century ago, and virtually nobody saw that coming.

This is my food for thoughts about Sam, Drew, and Jalen, though, however which way this shakes out. I think these are all pretty likable dudes who will be easy for most fans to root for.

Each guy has talent, and question marks. It is what it is, and while it might not be an ideal situation for fans because of the unknowns, I am comfortable with not knowing what we really have right now.

One thing is for sure, however; whoever sits at the QB1 situation for Seattle long term is destined to play with a kick ass defense under Mike Macdonald. Maybe that is what we really should all be getting excited about more and more. It’s a fun thought.

Go Hawks.