A little over two months before he put pen to paper with the Pittsbugh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers took the field at UCLA's campus in Southern California with the club's newly-acquired wide receiver DK Metcalf in a session that Rodgers later characterized as his process of doing his "due diligence."
And while Rodgers has cited coach Mike Tomlin, as well as the Steelers' storied history as reasons for his decision to come to the Steel City, he also mentioned Metcalf as a "big reason" why he decided to join Pittsburgh.
"DK is a lead by example guy," Rodgers said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. "He’s a big reason I’m in Pittsburgh as well. Conversations that we had and just the kind of person that he is."
Rodgers said he was blown away by Metcalf's "drive," which was immediately apparent to the four-time NFL MVP in the early time the two-time Pro Bowl selection proposed for the duo's workout session.
"At the start of the year, I didn’t really know DK at all. He’s like, ‘I work out at 6 a.m. every day.’ I’m like, O.K., this guy has discipline, this guy has a drive. I said, ‘How about 8 o’clock because I’m gonna have to drive from Malibu to UCLA?’ He said, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’
"He’s not just a specimen, but he’s a really solid human being. He’s a solid, solid dude, and he leads by example. The way he practices—I think that’s one of the most encouraging things is the room goes how the top dog goes."
And Metcalf, who has three 1,000-yard seasons and two double-digit touchdown reception campaigns to his name in six NFL seasons, will almost certainly be Rodgers's top dog in the Steelers offense.
Rodgers and Metcalf will look to continue building their chemistry when Pittsburgh takes the practice field for training camp in July.
