We have some breaking news in the NFL right before free agency opens up, as the Seattle Seahawks have traded quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick!
This move will undoubtedly change things for both of these teams, especially fantasy football-wise for 2025. So today, we are going to explore how this move affects the Raiders and Seahawks from a fantasy football perspective.
Seattle Seahawks
At first glance, this move seems puzzling if you are a Seahawks fan. But as you think about it more and more, it makes sense, as it looks like Seattle was tired of being stuck in mediocrity with Geno Smith. It was clearly time to move on, they felt. What are the most significant fantasy implications from this move for Seattle? Well, moving on from Smith and likely settling for a downgrade at quarterback for a year heavily impacts all of the team’s pass game weapons, downgrading these weapons for 2025 from a fantasy football lens. The player this move impacts the most is up and coming wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The third-year pro will no longer have his signal caller that helped him breakout in 2024, which is a negative and a concern.
You could argue that with DK Metcalf possibly on his way out of Seattle, Smith-Njigba will become a target monster in 2025. But with a low-end veteran at quarterback throwing him the ball weekly, does that matter all that much? Seattle will look to add a quarterback this offseason once free agency opens up next week, but unfortunately, the options out there are not all that great. Some names available via free agency next week include Jacoby Brissett, Marcus Mariota, Drew Lock, Justin Fields, and most notably, Sam Darnold. It’s not an inspiring list, to say the least.
One name does stick out here though, and that is Sam Darnold. Darnold had a career year with the Vikings in 2024, and he could come in and provide slightly above average play for the Seahawks in 2025. Although I feel that Sam Darnold is unlikely to sign with the Seahawks in free agency, fantasy managers should be hoping and praying that it does happen, for the sake of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the rest of Seattle’s weapons.
Las Vegas Raiders
For the Raiders, this is a much more positive outlook, specifically their pass game weapons. Talking about Brock Bowers, the rookie tight end was already a fantasy star in 2024, and that was with the revolving door of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell at quarterback. Imagine what Bowers could do in 2025 with an experienced veteran like Geno Smith, who is undoubtedly a drastic upgrade over whatever Minshew and O’Connell were in 2024. Also, Pete Carroll is now the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach, so Geno Smith will reunite with his former head coach from Seattle, where the veteran signal caller had a career year in 2022 under Carroll. This is quite notable, because Smith will come into the fold knowing the scheme and what to expect from Pete Carroll, and hopefully be motivated to provide the best version of himself for his weapons under Carroll once again.
Long story short, we may see one of THE BEST fantasy seasons ever for a tight end for Brock Bowers in 2025, for all the reasons I just explained. That statement might seem crazy right now, but it is not out of the realm of possibility if you really think about it. It is entirely possible. The Raiders also do not have a run game to speak of whatsoever, which will naturally lead to more passing volume for Geno Smith and company. As for Jakobi Meyers, I am pretty much keeping him the same in my mind. Meyers was already a target hog for Vegas last year, so there is not much room for him to move up. If the Las Vegas Raiders add a receiver or two and maybe a running back that can carry the load this offseason, this could be a fun offense to watch in 2025, and one that caters very well to fantasy managers.
Stay tuned for more BREAKING FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS, right here at Fantasy In Frames. Make sure to follow me on X at @aweingartner13. See you next time!
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