4 key observations from DK Metcalf’s performance versus 49ers Week 2
By Lee Vowell
DK Metcalf may have worked out an extension too early
The Seahawks got lucky. DK Metcalf signed an extension on his contract this offseason and didn’t wait until next offseason. Maybe Seattle would have franchise-tagged Metcalf and forced him to stay in Seattle through 2023. But if I was Metcalf and hadn’t signed an extension and was a free agent next year, there is no way I am thinking of re-signing with the Seahawks.
Metcalf wants to be a Hall of Famer. He is great. But in this current offense, Metcalf simply isn’t going to have raw numbers good enough to get him anywhere close to Canton. Seattle is wasting his talent and there likely is no way to fix it. Maybe if Drew Lock was the quarterback he would have the arm to take chances on hitting Metcalf deep, but Lock would probably also force a lot more passes than Geno Smith.
This is in no way meant to disparage Smith. He is being asked to not take chances in leading the offense and part of that is not putting the ball up in the air on deep routes where it could end up in an interception. But a by-product of that is DK Metcalf being underutilized.
Metcalf is signed through 2025. Seattle will probably choose a quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft who will be the QB of the future. That quarterback should have an arm closer to Wilson than Smith but it could take that QB a year or so to get acclimated to the NFL. This means the next great season we see from Metcalf is in 2024. Seattle was lucky he signed his extension.