DK Metcalf makes the Seahawks better regardless of his stats

When it comes to rookie wide receiver DK Metcalf, it isn’t all about the stats. He helps the Seahawks passing game even if he misses a few balls.

DK Metcalf has been making noise on the football scene long before his amazing performance at the NFL Combine. As it turned out, other teams shied away from the young god of football, and the Seahawks happily snapped him up in the second round. So far he’s more than fulfilled any and all reasonable expectations. We’ll take a look at this stats in a moment, but with Metcalf, his impact for the Hawks goes far beyond the stat sheet.

His stats aren’t eye-popping, but they’re certainly pretty good for a rookie. DK Metcalf has started in four of Seattle’s games and played in all five. He has 12 catches and two touchdowns. That certainly isn’t  earth-shattering, but it’s a solid contribution. That projects to 38 catches and six scores. Not terrific, but not bad. It’s when you factor in his yardage that things look up. Metcalf’s 12 catches have resulted in 267 yards for the Seahawks. That’s an average of 22.3 yards per catch, which leads the NFL by a yard and a half.

On the flip side, Metcalf has one stat that isn’t the best. That would be his catch rate. He’s only caught 12 of 26 targets, for a not-very-good 46 percent rate. For example, Tyler Lockett has an average rate of 83 percent, while Jaron Brown has caught 62 percent of his targets. It’s true that part of this is that so many of the throws DK Metcalf gets are so long. The average distance the ball travels before the catch is a ridiculous 18.6 yards. Even the great Russell Wilson can be excused for not having pinpoint accuracy on every throw.  But he usually does, so this is one aspect of Metcalf’s game he can definitely improve.

Still, even if he doesn’t catch every ball, Metcalf creates a huge problem for opposing teams. With his size and speed, there are very few corners that can cover him one on one. As a result, he often draws helps from one of the safeties. That often leaves players like Lockett in single coverage, which is an even bigger mistake. Will Dissly has been eating defenses alive this season. Budding superstar Chris Carson is well on his way to a great receiving season as well.

DK Metcalf is a big reason that Wilson is finding all these receivers so easily. He certainly needs to improve his catch rate to become the true weapon the Seahawks need. But when you compare him to many Hall of Fame receivers, he’s right on track. He already has more touchdowns than Antonio Brown and more catches and yards than Lance Alworth had as rookies. I’ll take that start.