2013 NFL Draft: Finding the knocks on Geno Smith

Many fans want the Kansas City Chiefs to draft West Virginia's Geno Smith in the 2013 NFL Draft because they need a quarterback and Geno looks like one of the top prospects because he completed a high percentage of his passes in college. Detractors will point out that every quarterback in Dana Holgorsen's system blows up statistically. In fact, Geno is on the lower end of those statistical rankings behind guys like Graham Harrell and Brandon Weeden. Is it the player or is it the system?

In a Wednesday chat with fans, the KC Star's Adam Teicher brings up another question about Geno Smith.

Comment from Rich: What have you heard are the negatives on Geno Smith? I know he played poorly in a few games, but character wise? Leadership?

Adam Teicher: I've heard many stories on his poor demeanor when things go wrong. It's difficult to tolerate that from a QB.

Teicher has hinted before that he doesn't think Geno Smith will be the pick, at least not No. 1. This must be part of the reason why.

It's a very tricky business once you start talking about things like character and demeanor. Demeanor isn't a tangible thing that you can produce and measure so it always, without fail, results in disagreements. There's no doubt Geno's camp would not agree with what Teicher says.

If the Chiefs are digging into Geno, which they surely are, they'll discover those stories Teicher references. What it means to them and how it impacts their perception of Geno remains to be seen.

But this is a good time to point out that it's draft season, which means we're going to see a LOT of differing opinions. For example....

Geno's college coach said:

Holgorsen thinks Smith's perfectionism stops short of being detrimental, which is a fine line to walk at Smith's position. But apparently it's familiar territory for WVU's quarterback: "I've worried about it at times, as far as ‘Is he worrying too much about it, is he too hard on himself?'" said Holgorsen. "He's a competitive kid. But he's also got a really good demeanor as far as being able to shake things off. Just a fantastic demeanor when it comes to shaking stuff off and playing the next play."

His old college coach said in 2010:

Stewart said after watching film Sunday, he noticed Smith's maturity in his demeanor and poise, which are different from last year.

His high school coach said:

"His demeanor never changed," said his coach, Damon Cogdell, who once suspended Smith for being late to practice, and pushed him to become a leader. "I could chew him out and bark at him, and some kids they would go in a shell. He never did, just stayed up, firm and high."

Those close to him said:

Those are around him at West Virginia says he's got the demeanor to handle the expectations.

Fans have said:

He is in total control of that offense and makes a lot of calls on the line depending what the defense gives him. This is a must in the NFL and something especially Sanchez has struggled with recently. WVUs offense unfortunately really doesnt give Smith a great opportunity to show a lot of throws down the field but again, I think his demeanor and leadership show big time.

In other words, we're a ways away from building a consensus on Geno.

The Chiefs will take someone at No. 1, even if it's not Geno. Here are three options for players not named Geno or Joeckel: