Ranking DK Metcalf’s worst drops of the 2024 NFL season

The Seattle Seahawks would not be as good as they are without DK Metcalf. Let's just say that from the start. Still, Metcalf could be a better player. And he probably caused Geno Smith's second interception versus the San Francisco 49ers by not coming out of his route crisply.

He has mostly cut back on the silly 15-yard penalties that plagued most of his early career. He also set a Seattle record by having three straight 100-yard receiving games earlier this season. Again, he could still be better.

What he needs to do is fix his issues with drops. Not just dropped passes, but catching the ball and then dropping the ball in the form of a fumble. He did not have any fumbles in 2023, but he has had two very bad ones in 2024. Here are his worst drops so far this year.

Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf's worst drops of the 2024 NFL season so far

4. Dropped passes versus the New England Patriots in Week 2

Let's not be too harsh on Metcalf for this game because he otherwise had 10 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown. He might have had 150 had he not dropped two passes. This came after a 2023 season when Metcalf had his highest drop percentage since 2020.

Metcalf has the speed and size to be a very productive receiver. What he lacks is anything close to elite hands. If he had the hands of, say, Tyler Lockett, Metcalf might have 1,600-yard receiving seasons.

3. Early drop(s) against the 49ers stunted any momentum

The first drop by Metcalf was on a simple out where Geno Smith threw the pass exactly where the ball needed to be for an 8-yard gain. The defender was close to tapping the ball but didn't, and Metcalf didn't have the concentration to catch the ball. A receiver who wants to get paid $30 million or more a season would have done that.

Another thing a receiver wanting to get paid even more money would do is help his quarterback out on slightly underthrown deep passes. In the first half, Smith was trying to hit Metcalf deep but couldn't quite get what he wanted to on the ball and Metcalf waited for the ball instead of coming back and drawing contact from the defensive back. Lockett would have done that; Metcalf doesn't seem to have the live awareness of doing the same.

2. Third quarter fumble versus the New York Giants

In a game where Seattle simply got outplayed, and head coach Mike Macdonald got outcoached defensively, the game was still tied at 10-all in the third quarter, and Seattle was driving. Smith completed a pass to Metcalf, who got close to the 20-yard line but then coughed up the ball. Unlike the fumble that follows in the next example of a Metcalf drop, Metcalf simply fumbled, and there was no great defensive play.

Sure, Seattle should have played better for the entire game and should have had the better roster. They also likely were going to score and take the lead in the third quarter. That might have changed the momentum.

1. First quarter fumble against the Lions

This was purely a fumble caused by a great play by the Lions' defender and Metcalf fighting for extra yards, but the early mistake crippled Seattle and hurt the team later. The drive was a promising one, and Seattle knew they were missing many key defensive personnel, so they had to try to make the game a proverbial track meet. They might have had Metcalf not fumbled.

Part of the issue is that Metcalf is big and strong. But he overestimates his own strength many times. He is capable of excellence, but he also needs to learn he cannot beat four or five defenders at once, especially if they know they can punch the ball out.