3 observations about DK Metcalf from Seahawks victory in Week 17
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks defeated the New York Jets in Week 17 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Seattle didn’t get much help from DK Metcalf, however. Some of Metcalf’s lack of production should be blamed on him, but not all of it.
Seattle, however, is still in the hunt for the postseason. They need a little help to get there but also control the outcome. The Seahawks must beat the Los Angeles Rams in Seattle in Week 18 while the Lions beat the Packers in Green Bay. If both of those things occur, Seattle will make the playoffs.
If Seattle does make the postseason, it will need more productivity from some of its key players to have a chance of winning any games once there. The run game needs to be as good as it has been in the last game and a half, the defense needs to continue its recent good play, and Seattle needs consistently better play from its key receivers. This includes, of course, DK Metcalf. Here are some observations about Metcalf based on Week 17.
Observation 1: Seahawks need more consistency from DK Metcalf
In 2022, Metcalf has two games where he had more than 100 yards receiving. He has six where he has had fewer than 40 yards. That is way too many for a player of Metcalf’s ability. He will most likely be bigger, stronger, and faster than whoever is covering him. He needs to use all that raw ability to get open more and catch passes in tight coverage.
I don’t mean to sound like Metcalf isn’t a good receiver. That would be dumb. Metcalf is on a short list among all NFL receivers ever who have had at least 300 receptions, 4,000 yards receiving, and 35 touchdown catches in their first four years. Metcalf is a lot of times a tremendous receiver. But he needs to be consistently better at being a tremendous receiver.
Metcalf, of course, does get double-covered quite a bit and maybe he doesn’t get as many targets because of that. But Metcalf is still the 12th-most targeted receiver in the league this year. Among that group, Metcalf has the 8th-highest yards per catch. Metcalf just needs to do a bit more with what he is attempted to be given.