D.K. Metcalf is a physical marvel who blew up the combine, but pre-draft reports suggested scouts (and fantasy teams) were more excited about him than NFL teams. Metcalf was selected in the second round by Seattle, but he was only the 9th wide receiver drafted.
Metcalf is big and fast, but he's also green. He missed virtually all of one college season and half of another due to injury. Also troubling is that his speed might be limited to use on go routes -- does his size compromise his change-of-direction ability? He had one of the worst 3-cone times at the combine, and that's a drill that measures lateral agility. Seattle will need to figure out how to use him properly, and get him coached up to expand that route tree.
Metcalf didn't put up big numbers in his final year of college, due to a neck injury. That's another concern. Among receivers drafted in the first and second round the last 10 years, only Dez Bryant -- and his season was limited to just 3 games -- caught fewer passes.
FINAL COLLEGE SEASON, 1ST- AND 2ND-ROUND WRS (2010-PRESENT) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Rd | Pk | Player | School | No | Yds | TD |
2017 | 2 | 37 | Zay Jones | East Carolina | 158 | 1746 | 8 |
2014 | 2 | 53 | Davante Adams | Fresno State | 131 | 1718 | 24 |
2014 | 1 | 20 | Brandin Cooks | Oregon State | 128 | 1730 | 18 |
2015 | 1 | 4 | Amari Cooper | Alabama | 124 | 1727 | 16 |
2012 | 1 | 5 | Justin Blackmon | Oklahoma State | 121 | 1522 | 18 |
2013 | 1 | 8 | Tavon Austin | West Virginia | 114 | 1289 | 12 |
2014 | 2 | 42 | Jordan Matthews | Vanderbilt | 112 | 1477 | 7 |
2015 | 1 | 7 | Kevin White | West Virginia | 109 | 1447 | 10 |
2012 | 1 | 20 | Kendall Wright | Baylor | 108 | 1663 | 14 |
2015 | 1 | 20 | Nelson Agholor | Southern Cal | 104 | 1313 | 12 |
2019 | 2 | 62 | Andy Isabella | Massachusetts | 102 | 1698 | 14 |
2014 | 1 | 4 | Sammy Watkins | Clemson | 101 | 1464 | 12 |
2012 | 1 | 13 | Michael Floyd | Notre Dame | 100 | 1147 | 9 |
2017 | 1 | 7 | Mike Williams | Clemson | 98 | 1361 | 11 |
2017 | 1 | 5 | Corey Davis | Western Michigan | 97 | 1500 | 19 |
2014 | 2 | 61 | Allen Robinson | Penn State | 97 | 1432 | 6 |
2018 | 2 | 51 | Anthony Miller | Memphis | 96 | 1462 | 18 |
2010 | 2 | 60 | Golden Tate | Notre Dame | 93 | 1496 | 15 |
2016 | 2 | 55 | Tyler Boyd | Pittsburgh | 91 | 926 | 6 |
2019 | 2 | 59 | Parris Campbell | Ohio State | 90 | 1063 | 12 |
2012 | 1 | 30 | A.J. Jenkins | Illinois | 90 | 1276 | 8 |
2016 | 2 | 40 | Sterling Shepard | Oklahoma | 86 | 1288 | 11 |
2019 | 2 | 51 | A. J. Brown | Mississippi | 85 | 1320 | 6 |
2011 | 2 | 64 | Randall Cobb | Kentucky | 84 | 1017 | 7 |
2014 | 2 | 45 | Paul Richardson | Colorado | 83 | 1343 | 10 |
2012 | 2 | 54 | Ryan Broyles | Oklahoma | 83 | 1157 | 10 |
2016 | 1 | 23 | Laquon Treadwell | Mississippi | 82 | 1153 | 11 |
2013 | 1 | 27 | DeAndre Hopkins | Clemson | 82 | 1405 | 18 |
2017 | 1 | 9 | John Ross | Washington | 81 | 1150 | 19 |
2018 | 1 | 24 | D.J. Moore | Maryland | 80 | 1033 | 9 |
2016 | 1 | 22 | Josh Doctson | Texas Christian | 79 | 1327 | 14 |
2011 | 1 | 6 | Julio Jones | Alabama | 78 | 1133 | 7 |
2013 | 2 | 41 | Robert Woods | Southern Cal | 76 | 846 | 11 |
2019 | 1 | 25 | Marquise Brown | Oklahoma | 75 | 1318 | 10 |
2018 | 2 | 60 | James Washington | Oklahoma State | 74 | 1549 | 14 |
2017 | 2 | 40 | Curtis Samuel | Ohio State | 74 | 865 | 15 |
2016 | 1 | 15 | Corey Coleman | Baylor | 74 | 1363 | 20 |
2019 | 1 | 32 | N'Keal Harry | Arizona State | 73 | 1088 | 10 |
2013 | 2 | 34 | Justin Hunter | Tennessee | 73 | 1083 | 9 |
2014 | 2 | 56 | Cody Latimer | Indiana | 72 | 1096 | 9 |
2018 | 2 | 47 | Christian Kirk | Texas A&M | 71 | 919 | 10 |
2012 | 2 | 33 | Brian Quick | Appalachian State (N.C.) | 71 | 1096 | 11 |
2011 | 2 | 44 | Titus Young | Boise State | 71 | 1215 | 9 |
2017 | 2 | 62 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | Southern Cal | 70 | 914 | 10 |
2014 | 1 | 7 | Mike Evans | Texas A&M | 69 | 1394 | 12 |
2018 | 2 | 40 | Courtland Sutton | Southern Methodist | 68 | 1085 | 13 |
2011 | 2 | 58 | Torrey Smith | Maryland | 67 | 1055 | 12 |
2019 | 2 | 57 | JJ Arcega-Whiteside | Stanford | 63 | 1059 | 14 |
2018 | 1 | 26 | Calvin Ridley | Alabama | 63 | 967 | 5 |
2018 | 2 | 44 | Dante Pettis | Washington | 63 | 761 | 7 |
2019 | 2 | 36 | Deebo Samuel | South Carolina | 62 | 882 | 11 |
2016 | 1 | 21 | Will Fuller | Notre Dame | 62 | 1258 | 14 |
2015 | 2 | 41 | Devin Funchess | Michigan | 62 | 733 | 4 |
2011 | 2 | 59 | Greg Little | North Carolina | 62 | 724 | 5 |
2015 | 2 | 40 | Dorial Green-Beckham | Missouri | 59 | 883 | 12 |
2014 | 1 | 12 | Odell Beckham Jr. | Louisiana State | 59 | 1152 | 9 |
2014 | 2 | 39 | Marqise Lee | Southern Cal | 57 | 791 | 4 |
2013 | 2 | 59 | Aaron Dobson | Marshall | 57 | 679 | 3 |
2011 | 1 | 4 | A.J. Green | Georgia | 57 | 848 | 9 |
2016 | 2 | 47 | Michael Thomas | Ohio State | 56 | 781 | 9 |
2014 | 2 | 63 | Jarvis Landry | Louisiana State | 56 | 573 | 5 |
2014 | 1 | 28 | Kelvin Benjamin | Florida State | 54 | 1011 | 15 |
2012 | 2 | 63 | Rueben Randle | Louisiana State | 53 | 917 | 8 |
2011 | 1 | 26 | Jon Baldwin | Pittsburgh | 53 | 822 | 5 |
2015 | 1 | 26 | Breshad Perriman | Central Florida | 50 | 1044 | 9 |
2012 | 2 | 45 | Alshon Jeffery | South Carolina | 49 | 762 | 8 |
2013 | 1 | 29 | Cordarrelle Patterson | Tennessee | 46 | 778 | 5 |
2010 | 1 | 22 | Demaryius Thomas | Georgia Tech | 46 | 1154 | 8 |
2010 | 2 | 36 | Dexter McCluster | Mississippi | 44 | 520 | 3 |
2015 | 1 | 14 | DeVante Parker | Louisville | 43 | 855 | 5 |
2012 | 2 | supp | Josh Gordon | Baylor | 42 | 714 | 7 |
2018 | 2 | 61 | D.J. Chark | Louisiana State | 40 | 874 | 4 |
2010 | 2 | 39 | Arrelious Benn | Illinois | 38 | 490 | 2 |
2015 | 1 | 29 | Phillip Dorsett | Miami | 36 | 871 | 10 |
2019 | 2 | 56 | Mecole Hardman | Georgia | 35 | 543 | 7 |
2015 | 2 | 37 | Devin Smith | Ohio State | 33 | 931 | 12 |
2012 | 2 | 43 | Stephen Hill | Georgia Tech | 28 | 820 | 5 |
2019 | 2 | 64 | D.K. Metcalf | Mississippi | 26 | 569 | 5 |
2010 | 1 | 24 | Dez Bryant | Oklahoma State | 17 | 323 | 4 |
Other 2019 rookies drafted in the first two rounds are listed in bold. Kansas City pick Mecole Hardman also shows up near the bottom of the list. He's in line to pick up Tyreek Hill's role in Kansas City, but he's pretty inexperienced; primarily a return man in college.
College production obviously isn't everything. Some of the guys near the top of the list -- Tavon Austin, Kevin White -- turned out to be nothing special. Had Metcalf played a full season last year, he'd show up more favorably.
I think Seattle will figure out a way to get Metcalf involved, especially with reports over the weekend that Doug Baldwin might have to retire. But his general lack of experience could work against him having a major rookie impact. His teammate at Mississippi, A.J. Brown, might be more productive, although he's going to a Titans team whose passing game probably won't be as good.
--Andy Richardson