Seahawks QB Profile - 2023 Offseason Episode 1

Join us on our journey as we give a quick profile on each of the Seahawks position groups, starting with the important QB position

Seahawks Today Lead Writers: Shrihun Sankepally and Nevin Tamilselvan ———————————————————

QB Geno Smith

Perhaps one of the most talked-up feel-good stories of the past season, Smith recently received a 3-year $35 million dollar deal filled with incentives and performance escalators. Smith outplayed all expectations last year, throwing for over 4000 yards and over 30 touchdowns en route to securing the Seahawks a wild-card berth in a season where many expected the Seahawks to miss it entirely. A large reason for this is the level of Smith’s play, which was repeatedly shown, especially in the first half of the season, where he was playing like a top 5 quarterback and making incredible throws (ie 2 touchdowns to Tyler Lockett vs the Saints) while playing with a porous defense. While Smith did cool down near the end of the season, there is no doubt that he can still play at a high level and make big plays with the Seahawk’s updated offensive roster, which now features first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba and new players along the offensive line, including C Evan Brown, G Anthony Bradford, and C Olusegun Oluwatimi. With this new and improved offense, it will be interesting to see how the Seahawks will do after trusting in Smith and giving him even more assets to which to create a high-profile offense once again.

QB Drew Lock

Drew Lock was acquired in the Russell Wilson trade, along with draft picks and players Noah Fant and Shelby Harris. Lock vs Smith was a big training camp battle throughout the 2022 preseason but after 3 games it was clear that Smith was the stronger candidate for the 2023 season. Drew lock served as QB2 but did not see any major playing time before becoming a free agent this offseason. The Seahawks then resigned him to a 1-year $4 million dollar deal, showing how the Seahawks still view him as a good backup that can build upon what he learnt in the past year within the Seattle system. Expect to see Lock play in the preseason for a large part of the snaps due to Smith having already proven himself as QB1.

QB Holton Ahlers

The most recent addition to the Seahawks QB room, Ahlers went undrafted in the 2023 draft and was then signed by the Seahawks to compete during training camp. Ahlers is from East Carolina, where he broke numerous passing records en route to winning an MVP at the NFLPA bowl. However, after an undrwhelming pro day, Ahlers went undrafted where the Seahawks then signed him. If they see enough potential within Ahlers, they might keep him as the 3rd QB on the practice squad who could get game day elevations. Ahlers could also unseat Lock as the primary backup later on through the season and eventually become the long-term backup after Lock’s deal expires after this season.