As Smith establishes a relationship with Jakobi Meyers, the receiver has been impressed with what the quarterback has showcased up to this point. Since arriving to Las Vegas, No. 16 has caught passes from five different quarterbacks in game action and enters the season as the team's WR1 after posting a career-high 1,027 receiving yards in 2024.
While it's still early in building their connection, Smith has provided a level of leadership and assurance to the huddle.
"He's a vet's vet, honestly," Meyers said. "I truly mean that, and I feel like this is the first time where I've had in a minute. I had Tom [Brady] for a year, that was a cool experience. But by having Geno, it kind of brings a sense of stability, if that makes sense. He knows what he's doing. He shows up the same every day, his personality stays the same every day. I haven't seen him have a bad day yet. So, I mean, I can't have bad days if the leader has no bad days."
There are obviously still kinks to be worked out as the team acclimates to a new offensive scheme, but things look promising considering the track record of the Raiders new offensive coordinator and quarterback. Kelly notably won a national championship last season at Ohio State, coincidentally with Geno's cousin Jeremiah Smith leading the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns as a true freshman.
Prior to Geno being traded to the Raiders, he completed over 70 percent of passes for a career-high 4,320 passing yards in 2024. And now being reunited with Pete Carroll, he knows what it'll take to lead the team to success and throw a few more jaw-dropping dimes in the process.
"We want to be efficient. That's the main thing," Smith said. "We want to do well in the situations, the third downs, the red zones. But also we want to be explosive. When teams come up and play us in man to man, we have guys that are going to win those matchups. I really feel good about where we are. We're still in work in progress but we're in a good spot and we've just to keep working hard to get better."