Chemistry Coming to Life For Seattle Seahawks' Geno Smith, DK Metcalf

After posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf has elevated his game to another level catching passes from Geno Smith in 2024.

Sep 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) makes a catch during the first quarter against Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images / Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Since Geno Smith took over as the Seattle Seahawks new starter under center prior to the 2022 season, he and DK Metcalf have formed one of the more prolific quarterback/receiver duos in the NFL over the past two seasons, linking up 148 times for 2,020 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The scary thing for opponents? Echoing the words that rolled off of coach Mike Macdonald's tongue in regard to the undefeated Seahawks during his weekly press conference on Monday, as they have already demonstrated during the team's hot 3-0 start, Smith and Metcalf "can be so much better."

Through the first three weeks of the season, few quarterback/receiver combos have been more dynamic than Smith and Metcalf, who have connected 17 times for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of those scoring tosses went more than 50 yards, including a 71-yard bomb against the Dolphins last week after the receiver flew past multiple defenders on a well-executed double move to come wide open for six points.

On that particular play, as Smith and Metcalf both elaborated on after the game on Sunday, months of film study and on-field work paid off in real time with the receiver running an option route against quarters coverage, either running a dig or turning upfield on a vertical depending on how defenders responded to the play. As it turned out, the safety in quarter coverage bit on the dig route hard, and Metcalf wisely chose the vertical option route to take advantage.

71 yards later, with Smith dropping the deep ball right in the bucket for Metcalf, the two had connected on their second long touchdown in as many weeks against busted coverage created in part by their still-improving chemistry and extra reps together in the spring.

"I think it's just the cerebralness of just being in games or making quick adjustments on the sideline," Metcalf said on Wednesday. "We had one play called and we had run that specific play during training camp. He told me to read it out and during training camp I did and we haven't revisited it until Sunday and just for it to work out that way just speaks to the level of trust that we have with each other. I had to be in the right spot and he had to put the ball to where only I can get it. The chemistry, it speaks for itself just by the practice reps or just in film study or texting when we're at home watching film, it just comes to life on Sundays from all our hard work. It's just a testament to both of our commitment to the game."

One of the best deep ball threats in the NFL, Metcalf's propensity for taking the top off a defense with his 4.3 speed at 6-4, 228 pounds has always been the biggest strength in his game. In his first five seasons, the former second-round pick has hauled in 21 receptions of more than 40 yards, the ninth-most in the league during that span, while his 11 touchdown receptions of 40-plus yards ranks behind only Tyreek Hill and ex-Ole Miss teammate A.J. Brown.

But aside from his penchant for torching defensive backs downfield, Metcalf has been a far more efficient receiver so far this year, yet another sign of his growing connection with Smith in year three of their partnership. He had never finished a season with a catch rate higher than 64 percent, and through three games this year, he has posted a much-improved 70.8 percent catch rate. Albeit with a small sample size, according to Pro Football Focus, he has caught three out of five contested catches so far at a 60 percent clip with his previous career-best being 52 percent in 2019.

Additionally, Metcalf has averaged nearly 88 yards per game, which would be more than seven yards higher than his previous career-high. Utilized more often in the short passing game in Ryan Grubb's offense so far, he also has already produced 104 yards after the catch with a pair of forced missed tackles, putting him on pace for 589 yards after the catch for the season, which would surpass his previous career-best by more than 200 yards.

With two other star receivers in Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba eager to make their mark on Seattle's passing game as well, Metcalf may have a difficult time maintaining his current full season pace of 96 receptions and 1,450 yards, which would trounce his own single-season franchise record set in 2020. There will be games where Smith leans more heavily on his other targets based on how opponents opt to defend them, as seen in Week 1 when the veteran only had three catches for 29 yards against Denver.

However, even accounting for a pair of drops in Week 2 in Foxboro, Metcalf has taken his game to another level so far this year when it comes to maximizing his targets from Smith, who isn't afraid to take chances getting the ball to his star wideout due to their mutual trust in one another regardless of who is playing coverage against him.

Still can’t get over this catch by DK Metcalf🤯 pic.twitter.com/YOVMtxGlk6

— EverythingDubs☄️ (@Dubs4Life3023) September 22, 2024

Look no further than last week when Smith bailed the pocket to his right with pressure bearing down on him in the first quarter, only to fire a jump ball for Metcalf to high-point over the top of cornerback Kendall Fuller along the sideline. The receiver plucked the pass out of the air away from Fuller and managed to get both of his feet down inbounds along the sideline for a spectacular 22-yard catch, setting up a four-yard touchdown run for Zach Charbonnet.

"That was a great catch by him," Smith remarked when asked about the play after the game. "Great job to keep his toes in-bounds. Any time you got a DB with his back turned to any of our targets, but especially a guy as tall as DK, you want to give him a shot there. He did a great job right there."

Even if Metcalf isn't going to receive a career-high in targets - he's on pace for 130 right now, which would be less than he posted in 2020 and 2022 - a higher catch rate courtesy of his own individual improvements, his still evolving rapport with Smith, and Grubb's scheme should allow him to make the most of those chances. And the presence of Lockett and Smith-Njigba will make opponents think twice about bracketing him in coverage, providing Smith more opportunities to let his playmaker go to work in one-on-one situations.

With the two ultra-competitors fueling each other's success on the field and in the film room, there's still plenty of room to grow for Smith and Metcalf. Considering what they already had done to NFL defenses the past two seasons and the fireworks they have generated through the first three weeks in Grubb's offense, defensive coordinators might need some external remedies to help get some sleep at night gearing up to face the Seahawks this season.