Geno Smith: Is He Worth Trading Up For?
By Luke Sims
Feb 24, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith (13) participates in a passing drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Geno Smith’s Pro Day wowed a lot of people. Mike Mayock, who is notoriously wishy washy, has now decided that Smith is worth a top-10 selection. Some fans are super high on Smith right now, and rightly so. Smith threw completed 60 of 64 passes at his Pro Day, two of the incomplete passes were drops by receivers. It all looks pretty good. Gus Bradley, head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is impressed by Smith’s accuracy. So, the question becomes, is he worth trading up for?
The Jags could stand pat and be fine in the 2013 NFL Draft. There are plenty of high caliber players who are going to be at the number two spot. They could take a top pass rushing threat like Barkevious Mingo, Bjoern Werner, or Dion Jordan, or they could go with another left tackle (so some people believe) or pick up a potential Hall of Fame guard like Chance Warmack – not that I’m biased toward guards in this year’s draft or anything.
But what about Geno Smith? If the Jags think he’s their guy, and it appears they are quite impressed, then he is worth jumping up one pick to get, right? Well, maybe. Moving up one spot would ensure that the Jaguars get their man, but at what cost? Would the Kansas City Chiefs be willing to part with their pick for the #2 overall and a player? Will the Chiefs demand draft picks in order to compensate for the second rounder they lost this year due to the trade for Alex Smith?
If it’s the latter, then I don’t see this deal going through. The Jags need their picks to make an almost entirely new team this year. Caldwell is too smart to trade picks for a very good quarterback prospect when he knows the team isn’t in a situation to sustain not having talent around that quarterback. In the Julio Jones trade when Caldwell was with Atlanta, the Falcons knew they were in a position where picks were expendable so they went up and got their man. Right now in Jacksonville, picks are much more valuable.
But what if the Chiefs would accept a player for the Jags to jump a spot and nab Geno? Who do you trade? Is someone like Maurice Jones-Drew suddenly expendable to get the franchise quarterback you want? The Chiefs have Jamaal Charles so that seems unlikely. The Jags really don’t have any players the Chiefs would be interested in to bolster their already seething talent.
Right now, I’m not seeing any trade up situation as worthwhile for the Jags, even if Geno is the guy. Is he a player the Jags would think long and hard about at number two? Yes. Is he a player worth giving up picks for or taking out a key player in a rebuild for? Not that I see. Caldwell will be weighing the pros and cons of trading up for Geno for some time, but I think he’s too smart to jeopardize it all when there are some strong options next year and the potential for Blaine Gabbert to finally “get it” in year three.
Smith is going to be a good storyline, but don’t expect the Jags to be moving up a spot to ensure they get him. It just doesn’t seem logical enough. This isn’t Gene Smith calling the shots anymore.
– Luke N. Sims
Feel free to leave comments on here or visit us at Facebook or Twitter!
You can also find me on Twitter @LukeNSims