The Seahawks have had a difficult decision to make at quarterback each of the last two offseasons. First, they made the bold move to trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos, then they doubled down on Geno Smith by giving him a team-friendly three-year extension. Heading into this next offseason, there should be no question as to who belongs at the top of the depth chart.

There’s still two weeks left in the regular season and another humbling Divisional Round exit to come, but we have seen enough of Geno Smith over the last two years to believe he has earned the right to continue starting, at least at the outset of the 2024 season.

On the stat sheet Smith is accurate, efficient and well above-average as a producer compared to the rest of the league’s quarterbacks this year. On film Smith is decisive, poised and clutch. That last attribute is what has impressed the most, as Sunday’s win over the Titans was Geno’s fourth game-winning drive this season and his seventh since he took over at QB1 at the start of 2022.

Russell Wilson has also managed to lead seven game-winning drives during that time, but he’s costing Denver far more than Seattle is paying for Smith, who may be the league’s best bargain among projected starters – that is not counting underrated and super-cheap backups like Taylor Heinicke, Gardner Minshew and *squints* Joe Flacco.

Next season Smith’s cap number will be $31.2 million, followed by $33.7 million in 2025. That’s solid and reasonable middle class compensation for a QB that has consistently been producing at a top-10 level two years in a row and occasionally – as we saw against Dallas – performs at an elite level.

As for the rest of the depth chart, Drew Lock has proven decent enough for a backup and there’s no reason not to re-sign him for another year to be the No. 2 option behind Smith.

However, committing to another year of Lock/Smith should not and must not prevent the Seahawks from rolling the dice on a quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL draft.

In case you haven’t been following college football this year, the crop of QBs coming up in this next class is as deep as it’s been in recent memory. There are at least five quality pro starters coming up and perhaps a dozen others that are worth considering at different points in the draft. Even if the Seahawks are 100% comfortable with both Smith and Lock they have to seriously consider picking one of them.

If they land someone special in the draft they’ll have a young and capable QB on a rookie contract to pair with an up-and-coming roster. If they don’t, then at least they don’t need to go looking for another franchise starter. Until someone proves they can do it better, this job belongs to Geno Smith.

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Story originally appeared on Seahawks Wire