Seattle picks fifth overall in 2023 draft, should they go QB?

The Seattle Seahawks have the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft through the Russell Wilson trade. Should they select a quarterback?  Perhaps picking fifth overall takes them out of the running for the likely top two quarterback picks in Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, but I think there’s an argument to be made that they should consider making a QB selection.

Geno Smith came out of nowhere in 2022 and easily had the best season of his career.  He threw 30 touchdown passes against 11 interceptions and earned a 100.9 passer rating.  He completed 69.8% of his passes and led the Seahawks to the 9th ranked scoring offense in the NFL.

Smith is 32 years old and clearly not much of a long-term option for them, but there is quite a bit of unknown about Smith.  Can he continue this pace of play?  Will he be another example of quarterbacks catching lightning in a bottle for one year before returning to who they were before?

Can Geno Smith help a team win a Super Bowl?  Does Smith possess most qualities teams would be looking for in a franchise quarterback?

Geno Smith can answer a few of these questions for Seattle, as the Seahawks clinched the seventh seed in the playoffs this year, so if Smith can help guide the team into a somewhat deep playoff run, then perhaps the Seahawks would have seen enough to lock him up for the next several years.

Also, the team’s defense was ironically the weakpoint of their team.  The 25th ranked scoring defense surrendered 23.6 points per game.

The big question here is whether the Seahawks should use their fifth overall pick for the defensive side of the ball and to try and shore that unit up, or if they should use this high pick on a QB for the long-term, as it might not be likely that they are picking this high for years to come.

Also, what would Pete Carroll prefer?  He’s 71 years old and surely won’t be coaching for much longer, so would he want to have to deal with trying to develop a young quarterback?  Not likely.

This will be an interesting decision for Seattle, but I do think they keep Geno Smith around and do not take a quarterback.