Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been putting up the bigger numbers of late, but DK Metcalf has continue to prove very valuable to Seattle’s offense even when the numbers don’t show it.
Through the first couple months of the season, DK Metcalf was one of the NFL's leading receivers, at one point ranking as high as third in receiving yards.
Metcalf had three straight 100-yard games in Weeks 2-4, making him the first player in franchise history to do that, and had another 99-yard game before injuring his knee in Atlanta.
The Pro-Bowl wideout has still been productive since returning from that injury, catching 19 passes for 244 in the last four games, keeping him on pace for a fourth 1,000-yard season in the last five years, but in recent weeks it has been second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba leading the team in receiving, with the 2023 first-round pick leading the team in receiving yards for six straight games, starting with the two Metcalf missed with the knee injury.
Over that six-game span, Smith-Njigba has caught 38 passes for 592 yards and four touchdowns, and he is up to sixth in the NFL in receiving yards with 911. Plenty of that has to do with Smith-Njigba's considerable talents—after all, he had a 180-yard, two-touchdown performance in Metcalf's absence last month—but there is no doubting that the mere presence of Metcalf in recent weeks has played a role in other players, Smith-Njigba included, getting the ball.
Simply put, Metcalf is one of one when it comes to his combination of speed, size and physicality, so NFL defenses have to adjust accordingly. And while the added attention defense put on Metcalf can at times lead to quiet stretches for him, it has benefited Seattle's offense in other ways.
It's treatment Geno Smith saw coming when Metcalf first arrived as a second-round pick in 2019, and now the key is for Seattle's offense to take advantage.
"It goes back to when he was a rookie, we both got here at the same time, and I had been around the league for a while, seen a bunch of receivers, and I told him, 'Man, if they don't cloud you—you're the X—if they don't double you, you're not reaching your full potential. Sure enough, he's right there. No team that we've faced is just going to leave him one-on-one. I think it's a gift and a curse because you want to throw him the ball as much as you can. You want to give him the ball. But you also realize you can't force it. When defenses are loading up and they're putting two and three guys on the backside for him, it just creates more numbers to the front side for us. We're always going to take advantage of the right match-ups. DK has done a great job at blocking downfield, being a leader in the huddle, just doing all the little things that he's always done. But he's understanding, man. He's drawing so much attention that it's opening up things for other guys, and him being the selfless player that he is, the selfless person that he is, he enjoys that. He enjoys the fact that the entire offense can benefit from having a star X receiver like him. I think he's done a tremendous job. We've still got to find ways to get him involved, but if they're going to just load up the coverage, then we've got to do the right thing there."
As Smith pointed out, one of the many ways Metcalf has continued to help the team is his blocking ability, which comes from a combination of power, physicality and willingness that few, if any, other receivers possess.
"Just the competitor, the relentless competitor," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said when asked about Metcalf. "Just love seeing him out there, man. Feel good when he's out there doing his thing. But I know that if teams want to play like high-low, double on him, then it's a little bit tougher to get him the ball. So, we've got to keep finding creative ways to make sure he comes alive. But, when that doesn't happen, then I think we'll definitely feel the full DK experience.
"There are so many plays like that that are easy to go unnoticed, but, I know this, I don't want to see him blocking me. I don't want to be out there with him blocking me."
As Metcalf pointed out this week, his willingness to mix it up as a blocker shouldn't come as a surprise, not when you consider that his father, Terrence Metcalf, was an offensive lineman who spent seven seasons with the Bears.
"Well, my dad played offensive line, so I watched him growing up and admired the blocking aspect of the game," Metcalf said. "And a lot of people don't take blocking seriously, and I try to do it just to try to set myself apart from other receivers in the league."
One of Seattle's most physical offensive lineman, Abraham Lucas, can see the offensive line influence show in Metcalf's game.
"DK does a great job blocking," Lucas said. "I like his mentality. When he gets going, it's pretty hard to stop him. He's ferocious. He's not a guy that takes any crap from anybody, and you like that. I think he'd be a good offensive lineman if he was to play O-line."
While Metcalf, like any receiver, would love to get the ball more often, he also realizes that the way teams are focusing on him only validates the success he has had in his career.
"I just look at it as a sign of respect that I've gained from other defensive coordinators, and just continue to do my job with it as blocking or being a decoy," he said. "The ball is going to find me one play or another, but if it doesn't, at least we get the dub and that's all that matters in this league is winning and to continue to win and if you continue to win, you stay relevant. So no, I'm just honing on just continuing to do my job. If the stats don't say so, then so be it. At least we get to win."
Asked what he prioritizes when he isn't getting the ball, Metcalf smiled and let the inner O-lineman in him come out: "Trying to block my ass off and trying to get pancakes on defensive backs."
