Seattle Seahawks' DK Metcalf On Pace For Career-Best Campaign

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf has 262 receiving yards and two touchdowns through three games. He's on pace for the best season of his career.

Sep 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) runs the ball against New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (0) in the second half at Gillette Stadium. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf is off to his best three-game start to a season, statistically, since 2020. The team is also 3-0 for the first time since that campaign.

Metcalf has 17 catches for 262 receiving yards (sixth in NFL) and two touchdowns — just 35 yards and one score short of his three-game start five seasons ago (12 catches, 297 yards and three touchdowns). He finished the 2020 season with 83 catches for 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns. Among wide receivers, Metcalf ranked sixth in receiving yards that year.

Back in July, we explored the possibility of Metcalf having his best season, or at least his best in a while, in new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme. His per-game receiving yards output (87.3) is currently outpacing our projections (74.4) which had him posting 1,264 yards on the season. If he maintains his current pace, Metcalf would finish with a career-high 1,484 receiving yards.

“At any point in time, he can put points on the board wherever you’re at,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame on Sunday, following Metcalf’s second-straight 100-yard game. “We love him. He’s working his butt off. I’m just glad that [No.] 14 is on our side. He’s a problem. He’s a massive problem for defenses.”

Metcalf had a 71-yard touchdown catch off a double move versus the Dolphins — his second score of 50 or more yards in consecutive games — where his route fake inside forced Miami safety Jevon Holland to bite, allowing him to get behind the defense and await Geno Smith’s pass. Metcalf did the rest, outrunning two Dolphins defenders to the end zone.

But Metcalf’s offensive impact goes far beyond just him catching the ball. He’s a threat, and defenses are forced to respect that — Seattle’s stable of pass-catchers, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyler Lockett and Noah Fant, benefit.

Fant, in particular, had just his second six-catch game (60 yards) as a Seahawk on Sunday as a result of Miami trying to take Metcalf out of the game.

“If they want to double DK and [Tyler] Lockett, then you got matchups for Jaxon and Noah,” Smith said postgame of his receiving corps. “We got some unselfish guys out there, and at any given time it could be any guy’s day.”

Smith and Metcalf’s chemistry has now been building full-time for three seasons. Smith took over as Seattle’s starting quarterback in 2022, but he signed with the Seahawks the same year Metcalf was drafted (2019).

They have it dialed in. Metcalf’s long touchdown versus Miami was a choice route based on how he read the coverage.

“I saw it was Cover 2. Me and Geno have been working that certain route since training camp, and it just came to life today,” Metcalf said on Sunday.

GENO!! DK!! 71 YARDS!!

📺: #MIAvsSEA on CBS/Paramount
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gFCnlPPkRc

— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024

There’s still plenty to improve on, as Metcalf scored at the end of the first quarter to take a 17-3 lead, and the Seahawks didn’t find the end zone again until there was 4:55 remaining in the game. After Metcalf’s touchdown, Seattle had just two drives that lasted longer than five plays before the 98-yard touchdown drive sealed the game late.

“If we didn’t win, we would have had a sour taste in our mouth after the second and third quarter that we had out there,” Metcalf added. “Winning takes care of a lot of mistakes, but you can’t overlook them or sweep them under the rug. You’ve got to be professionals and be the type of team that fixes those mistakes and moves on and improves throughout the season.”

While there are still kinks to work out, Seattle’s offense may become a unit where opponents must pick their poison. Cover everyone one-on-one, and you’ll continue to see Metcalf and the Seahawks’ receivers posting big games. Double one of them (most likely Metcalf), and everyone else has more space to work.

Metcalf hasn’t had a top-15 receiving season since 2020. It looks like that could change this season if he and Smith keep their current pace. Smith has been a high-volume passer through three games (T-7th in pass attempts, 3rd in passing yards), so the opportunities should continue to be there for the dominant wide receiver.

Seattle will then have a good problem on its hands: How much are you willing to spend on an extension for Metcalf, who is only under contract through 2025? At this statistical pace, and with the state of the receiver market, Metcalf will likely be asking for more than $30 million per year. The Seahawks would benefit from getting a deal done sooner rather than later.