The Seahawks finally used DK Metcalf in a way different than the first two games. Instead of a possession receiver, he was a possession receiver with benefits.
The fact is – or at least appears to be – that the Seahawks offense is not going to be anywhere close to the same fluidity that 12s have become accustomed to over the last 10 seasons. No offense to Geno Smith because he is doing what he is being asked to do, but there is no way that DK Metcalf is going to see as many pure downfield throws as he did when Russell Wilson was the quarterback.
Heck, even if Wilson was still the Seahawks quarterback in 2022 DK Metcalf might not be benefiting. Wilson hasn’t been good with the Broncos in his first season there and he certainly wasn’t himself in 2021 either.
So what can we hope DK Metcalf to accomplish in 2022 based on his last performance? He was better because the Seattle offense was a bit better. But did we see the high end of possibly Metcalf’s lowest year of his career?
DK Metcalf was better in Week 3 but not perfect
In Week 3 against the Falcons, we did see what we hope is a positive trend. That is, DK Metcalf saw a lot of targets. In Week 1, Metcalf was targeted 7 times and in Week 2 it was 6. But in Week 3, Metcalf saw 12 targets. He only caught 5 of them, however. One was for a touchdown and Metcalf caught the pass with strength and great hands. It was Metcalf’s first touchdown reception of the year.
The number of targets Metcalf received, though, is a bit misleading. Some were intentional overthrows that Metcalf had no chance to catch. Most of the catchable passes Metcalf did corral. But he also had a drop in the fourth quarter that would have been a first down.
Thankfully, his drop didn’t end the drive as Seattle eventually picked up a first down on another pass to a different receiver. But would have Tyler Lockett dropped the same ball thrown to Metcalf? Likely not.
DK Metcalf is special but not Tyler Lockett special
It would be interesting to see what would happen if Tyler Lockett had to miss several games in this 2022 offense. I certainly don’t want him to. If the Seahawks need a ball to be caught at an important time and I was the quarterback, I would definitely be looking towards Lockett and not Metcalf. That’s no slight to Metcalf; Lockett is just that great.
Lockett is a possession receiver in the greatest sense of the word. He can run out patterns that most defensive backs can’t keep up with. It’s actually a shame when Seattle goes away from that because if you need a first down when it’s 2nd and 5 or 3rd and short, Lockett is probably going to be open. Lockett runs crisper routes than most mortals ever have and better than Metcalf.
Metcalf is a large human being and if he ran the same routes that Lockett did, he would have 150 catches in a season. He may not have 1,500 yards in a year but he would help pick up critical first downs. But there is a reason Metcalf isn’t asked to do the same things Lockett does and that is because both receivers are very good at what they do.
Metcalf needs to be the downfield threat and Lockett needs to be the guy who picks up first downs and does the occasional downfield threat. But Lockett is more consistently versatile than Metcalf. Does that make him the better receiver? Maybe. It certainly makes him more useable in this current version of the offense. We will see what a different quarterback, and possibly a different offensive coordinator, brings in 2024.
DK Metcalf needs to be the alpha
There is only so much a receiver can do, obviously. There are few positions on the football field where singular talent can transform the game but many times those positions are reliant upon others. For instance, Derrick Henry of the Titans is a generational talent but someone has to hand him the ball. DK Metcalf isn’t quite as generational but can still change the outcome of games. Yet, he has to rely on a quarterback to get him the ball.
Metcalf has the size, strength and speed to beat any defender. He has made a mockery at times of players like Jalen Ramsey but he isn’t able to consistently do it without being put in the correct positions by the gameplan, a quarterback who can deliver him the ball and then Metcalf to run the crisp route.
But Metcalf has one thing that most of the other Seahawk offensive players, maybe none of them, have and that is machismo. Metcalf likes to talk and can back up the talk with great play on the field. Seattle is a young team and needs to learn it’s OK to talk a little smack. Heck, Richard Sherman could do that straightaway but he also had Earl Thomas there to show him it’s OK.
I am not saying Metcalf needs to draw bad penalties by getting into needless fracases with opponents. But he could show that playing with a chip on one’s shoulder and being a bit brash about it is a good thing. Metcalf is a great player and having the good rookies see that he isn’t afraid to be himself on the field is only going to help them too.