For NFL draft prospects, seeing criticism in the media from anonymous sources is simply part of the process of going pro. But Jets second-round pick Geno Smith has been taking a surprising amount of criticism after the draft.
From criticism of his statement on Thursday night that he would leave New York after he wasn’t picked in the first round to criticism of his decision after the draft to fire his agents, Smith has already taken a number of shots. Now comes a report from Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports that cites sources with other NFL teams as saying Smith displayed a bad attitude in pre-draft meetings.
Two sources told Cole that when Smith was on pre-draft visits, he spent too much time on the phone, texting friends or reading Twitter.
“All these other players who were in there were talking to the coaches, trying to get to know people and he was over there by himself,” one source said. “That’s not what you want out of your quarterback.”
Another critic said Smith doesn’t exude leadership the way Bills first-round pick E.J. Manuel does.
“He doesn’t have much presence, not much of a leader,” one executive who studied Smith said. “I don’t think he’s a bad person, but that’s not enough to be a quarterback in this league.”
The Jets obviously liked Smith well enough to spend a second-round draft pick on him, and as long as Smith makes his new team happy, it really doesn’t matter what the other 31 teams think. But it is becoming clear that a whole lot of people around the NFL don’t think highly of Smith.
