The Las Vegas Raiders have a new quarterback. Geno Smith was traded to the Raiders by the Seattle Seahawks for a third-round pick. Smith reunited with head coach Pete Carroll after he helped him revitalize his career in Seattle. He joins a team looking to revitalize itself with a new coach, new quarterback, and probably lots more new comers in the coming months. Now that Geno Smith is a Raider, what does that mean for other players, not only for the Silver and Black, but for your fantasy team?
Winners of the Geno Smith Trade
Jakobi Meyers: WR- Las Vegas Raiders
Jakobi Meyers has had two sneaky good years in his time with the Raiders. He finished as the WR24 and WR19 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. That was with a carousel of quarterbacks and playing second fiddle to Davante Adams. The Geno Smith trade brings in a substantial upgrade at quarterback for Meyers. Geno Smith isn’t a strong-armed quarterback. He excels with short over-the-middle passes. Geno made Tyler Lockett a solid fantasy asset and pushed Jaxon Smith-Njigba a break out last year. Both of those receivers are more “possession-style” receivers who do more after the catch. That is the same mold that Jakobi Meyers fits. While Meyers won’t be a sexy name in fantasy circles this season, he will easily reproduce what he has done the past two seasons with an upside for more, depending on what other moves the Raiders make. You can get Meyers for way less than what he produces.
Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart, Will Howard- QBs
This year’s rookie quarterback class is plenty deep but not top-heavy. After Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, there are a handful of guys contending for the third, fourth, and fifth spots. The issue with those players has been the landing spot. Were there enough teams that actually needed a quarterback? And where those landing spots any good. The Raiders have one of the best tight ends in the game in Brock Bowers. They don’t have a running back currently, and the wide receiver group was filled with guys you had to scroll for days on waivers to find outside of Jakobi Meyers. With the Geno Smith trade, we don’t get any additional landing spots, but we do get an upgraded one.
Compared to the Raiders, the Seattle Seahawks have a great young wide receiver in Jaxson Smith-Njigba. A solid tight end group with Noah Fant and AJ Barner and two solid running backs in Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. D.K. Metcalf is currently on the roster, but trade rumors are swirling. It’s a clear upgrade for the second-tier rookie quarterbacks.
Not only do they have better weapons, but they also get to compete for the starting job with Sam Howell. Most of the players in that draft tier need some time to develop. Being rushed into the starting job would almost be a determent to their overall development. If they went to the Raiders, they would be a heavy favorite to start Week 1. Now they get to show what they can do but still sit and learn for half a season much like Drake Maye did in New England last year.
Kenneth Walker & Zach Charbonnet: RB Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks were a top four passing team in 2024 in terms of play calling. How could you not when you boost their trio of wide receivers. Well now things have changed. Lockett is gone. Metcalf seems to be all but out the door. And now Geno Smith is traded. The Seahawks seem destined to draft a quarterback int he first two or three rounds of the NFL draft. That guy will be shoulder tapped as the next franchise guy. With that comes growing pains. Same will happen with Sam Howell as their bridge quarterback. So when your quarterback struggles, what do you do? You run the ball. That is great news for fantasy managers who have Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Their overall opportunities should increase.
Walker only played 11 games last season while dealing with a mid-section injury. He still finished the season as RB27. I expect him to increase that and get back to being a top 10 running back. Charbonnet took advantage of an increased workload and ended up as a the RB25. Charbonnet should finish closer to the RB20 range. Both are very good pass catchers which will be a valuable asset for who ever their quarterback is.
Losers in the Geno Smith Trade
Sam Howell: QB Seattle Seahawks
I have always liked Sam Howell. I was excited to see him get the starting job for the Washington Football club back in 2023. I was optimistic when he got traded to Seattle to back up Geno Smith because Smith had been nothing more then a back up for years. Sam Howell was never able to beat out Smith for the starting job despite a new coach last season. SO why is Sam Howell a loser of the Geno Smith trade? You might be thinking, yes he now gets the nod as the starter. Yes that is true but how long will he get? If Howell was named the starter I would be super excited and he would be a clear winner. To me the issue that I believe the Seahawks draft a quarterback and probably earlier then later in April’s draft. This puts Howell on a short leash. He won’t get the time to improve from mistakes. He won’t have the confidence that he will be the starter if he throws a pick six. Always looking over your shoulder is a tough spot to be in for a quarterback.
It also looks like the Seahawks are in complete sell mode. They already released Tyler Lockett. They gave D.K. Metcalf permission to seek a trade and just traded Geno Smith. Is Howell even safe to make this team? Could the Seahawks trade him to a team looking for someone to compete with their current starter? I love that Howell will get a better chance to be the starter then he did with Geno Smith on the roster but I don’t love that it looks to be just a place holder for whom ever the team taps are their future franchise guy.
Brock Bowers: TE- Las Vegas Raiders
Don’t hear what I’m not saying. Let me be clear. Brock Bowers is good. He is really good. But this isn’t the best news for him. Geno Smith has never been a tight end guy. Noah Fant’s best season was 64 targets on pace for 77. Brock Bowers saw 153 targets last season. Yes Brock Bowers is way better then Fant. But system matters. Geno Smith will still be looking to get the ball to his best play maker but he has never produced a fantasy relevant tight end. Neither has new head coach Pete Carroll. So hat does all of this mean for last years rookie star Brock Bowers.
Bowers will still be very good for fantasy football managers. I just don’t expect him to repeat the volume he had in 2024. I expect Bowers to see around 1oo targets. That would be good enough for 5th best last season. The issue is the overall fantasy points. Bowers had almost 70 more points the the TE5 last season. Still worthy to be your starting tight end just need to temper expectations and realize a decrease in overall numbers in incoming. Lets not forget that Geno Smith before his time in Seattle was bad. So don’t be surprised if the luck for Geno runs out. That doesn’t mean good things for Brock Bowers.
Russell Wilson, Justin Fields & Kirk Cousins: QBs
As much as the rookies win from the Geno Smith trade, the veteran free agents lose. This trade takes away a possible spot for them to sign as they seek to continue their careers. With Pete Carrol in as coach there was hope that he would prefer a veteran over a rookie and while he did it just wasn’t Russell Wilson, Justin Fields or Kirk Cousins. All the veteran quarterbacks looking for a new team now have to turn to other teams. If you are holding one or more of these quarterbacks you have to hope they sign with the New York Giants or Pittsburgh Steelers. Both places look like potential starting opportunities. The Geno Smith trade doesn’t mean they won’t be good for fantasy but there is one less opportunity for them to be starters in the league now.
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