Heavy dose of disrespect for DK Metcalf should serve as lighter fluid to ignite 2024

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf came into the league with some question marks. Could he stay healthy? Would he be able to develop into a crisp route-runner? Was he more of a freakish athlete instead of a player who could do the dirty parts of the game as well, like run-block?

For the most part, Metcalf has answered all of the questions positively for the team. He has only missed one game in his five seasons due to injury. His route-running is better than expected and there have not been constant cases of miscommunication between him and his quarterbacks. He also has been decent at blocking, if not overwhelming.

He has also become the best receiver that the Seahawks have. Some fans might personally like Tyler Lockett or Jaxon Smith-Njigba better, but the raw statistics point to Metcalf being the alpha in Seattle's wide receiver room. He led the team in receiving yards, touchdown receptions, and yards per catch in 2023.

Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf called one of the most overrated players in the NFL

Last year, Metcalf was fifth in the NFL in yards per reception at 16.8. He was eighth in touchdown catches with eight. Some might take issue that his numbers do not match a player such as Justin Jefferson, Metcalf sees far fewer targets per game than some other productive receivers. Last season, Metcalf had 7.4 targets per game in 16 games. Though Jefferson was injured for some of the season, he still saw an average of 10 targets per game.

Just don't ask a website called Give Me Sport if DK Metcalf is good. They will answer by saying he is overrated, only they will not offer much proof as to why. In a recent post about the most overrated players in the NFL, Give Me Sport (the same site that recently offered the idea that Desmond Ridder would be the Seahawks' QB1 in 2025) ranked Metcalf fourth.

The site throws out the old tiresome (and untrue) tropes about the receiver. They write that Metcalf "is one of the freakiest athletes in the league. But as he enters his sixth NFL season, he has been unable to become anything more" as well as "Metcalf’s lack of refinement as a route runner can rear its ugly head from time to time."

In other words, the writers at Give Me Sport don't seem to watch Metcalf play but only rehash something they likely read on the internet somewhere. Based solely on Metcalf's fourth quarter efficiency last year - 13 of his 15 receptions went for first downs and more than a quarter of his catches were 20 yards or longer - one might assume his route-running is not a concern as his quarterback knows when to find him in the high-stress moments.

Metcalf might not yet have consistently put up top-10 production in the league, but he has been limited by the structure of the Seahawks' offense as well as having the excellent Tyler Lockett playing next to him. If Metcalf did not have Lockett eating up his targets to a great degree, Metcalf's numbers would only be higher.

Give Me Sport ranking DK Metcalf as the fourth most overrated player in the league is simply absurd and the site clearly loses any merit by doing so. The same article has future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner ranked seventh. Take that for what it's worth (which isn't much).

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