Is Alex Smith Better Than Kirk Cousins?

In late January, the Washington Redskins traded their third round 2018 pick and rising star cornerback Kendall Fuller to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for quarterback Alex Smith.

Their wasn’t a true winner of the trade because both teams lost key aspects from their team. The real question for the Redskins is, if Alex Smith is a better quarterback than Kirk Cousins?

Keep in mind that it’s very difficult to compare NFL quarterbacks because teams run different schemes, have different players with different talents, and the game of football relies on all 11 players on the field. But if there is one thing we can compare, its numbers.

The best comparison for Smith and Cousins comes from the last three years because they both had full control of their offenses.

Alex Smith’s Last 3 Seasons

  • 11,030 Passing Yards/ 3,676 per year
  • 61 Passing Touchdowns/ 20 per year
  • 20 Interceptions/ 6 per year
  • 1,464 Pass Attempts/ 488 per year
  • 7.53 Yards Per Pass Attempt
  • 66.6 Completion Percentage
  • 987 Rushing Yards/ 329 per year
  • 8 Rushing Touchdowns/ 2.6 per year
  • 31 Wins/ 10.3 per year
  • QBR #8
  • 2 Games Missed (1 due to the chief’s clinching their playoff spot)

Kirk Cousins Last 3 Seasons

  • 13,176 Passing Yards/ 4,392 per year
  • 81 Passing Touchdowns/ 27 per year
  • 36 Interceptions/ 12 per year
  • 1,689 Pass Attempts/ 563 per year
  • 7.76 Yards Per Pass Attempt
  • 67 Completion Percentage
  • 323 Rushing Yards/ 107 per year
  • 13 Rushing Touchdowns/ 4.3 per year
  • 24 Wins/ 8 per year
  • QBR #15
  • 0 Games Missed

If you looked at the numbers, you would notice that Cousins had more passing yards strictly because he threw the ball more. By throwing the ball more, Cousins threw more touchdowns along with more interceptions.  Cousins threw the ball on average 75 more times per season than Smith. The completion percentage between the two were identical, which shows that both passers are accurate with their throws.

Cousins had a the better average yards per pass attempt, but in 2017 Smith averaged 7.8 yards per attempt which tied for second in the NFL behind Drew Brees with 8.1 yards per pass attempt.

Smith is by far the better runner but just cant seem to find the end zone like Cousins does. Smith is a winner, he averaged more wins per seasons compared to Cousins but it could be because Smith was on a better team.

Smith is entering the 2018 season at 34 years old coming off of his best season in the NFL while Cousins is 30 years old coming off a mediocre season. It’s difficult to clearly pick the better quarterback because of their similar play styles, but if I had to choose a quarterback that would best suit the Redskins it would be Smith because of his football IQ and his leadership on and off the field.

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