D.K. Metcalf Trade: Should Falcons Call on WR Calvin Ridley Replacement?

The Falcons need a wide receiver big time. Why not DK?

A DK Metcalf trade to the Atlanta Falcons? It would in theory fix all the things that seem broken in a post-Calvin Ridley world.

The Seattle Seahawks buzz about possibly dealing the 24-year-old standout persist … though we wonder why a rebuilding Seattle team wouldn’t just want to build around him.

The Falcons are looking for a wide receiver to fill the void left by Ridley, who is suspended for the entire 2022 season. And while there will be several options in the draft, they might not be more explosive than the fourth-year pro.

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D.K. Metcalf

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Treylon Burks, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams

DK Metcalf
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D.K. Metcalf

Seattle is publicly saying that Metcalf is not on the trade block. But the rumors aren’t going away.

Rather than use a high pick on a receiver to team with Cordarrelle Patterson with the hope that the rookie will become a star catching passes from new quarterback Marcus Mariota

Why not use the extra second-round pick to trade more a sure thing in Metcalf?

Is that experience a reason to try to be bold again? Or a reason to be gun-shy?

The big, physical Seahawks star is coming off another fine season, appearing in all 17 games and catching 75 passes for 967 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns in 2021.

Cordarrelle Patterson vs Panthers
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Cordarrelle Patterson

Calvin Ridley vs Dolphins
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Calvin Ridley

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Marcus Mariota

Metcalf is also an iron man, as he has not missed a game so far in his three-year career.

Want “bold”? There have already been blockbuster trades in the NFL this offseason, some boldly involving star wide receivers (Davante Adams to the Raiders, Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins). “Bold” is winning the arms race. Or, in Atlanta’s case, “bold” would be about a huge Ridley-like building block.


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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.