Top 3 Seattle Seahawks to watch against Los Angeles Rams in Week 1

Seahawks need DK Metcalf to be explosive Week 1

OK, so while I meant what I said on the previous slide, let's put that aside for a minute. Los Angeles traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey this offseason and the Rams have no one that should be able to shade DK Metcalf. Of course, Metcalf had some excellent games against Ramsey and the Rams because he gets up for challenges like that. Could Metcalf be slightly less motivated in Week 1 because the Rams don't have Ramsey?

Or DK Metcalf could begin the 2023 season red hot and carry that throughout the remainder of the year. I still think if the Seahawks have to have one pass completed that Tyler Lockett is a safer bet over Metcalf because Lockett has the hands of a god, but Metcalf is capable of being the more explosive player. Maybe Lockett leads the team in catches in Week 1, but Metcalf could have the better numbers overall.

In 2022 with Metcalf facing Ramsey, he had two completely different games. In the first meeting - Week 13 - Metcalf had 8 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown - but he was relatively shut down in Week 18 with only 3 catches for 40 yards. Again, there is no Jalen Ramsey this year for the Rams, but Los Angeles still has Aaron Donald and could be capable of limiting the time Geno Smith has to throw.

Obviously, if Geno Smith doesn't have much time to pass then Metcalf's deep routes have less time to develop. But I am going to assume Seattle's offensive line is better this year and, therefore, the pass blocking is better. My guess is that Metcalf has three explosive catches of 25-plus yards and gets over 100 for the day.

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