Every offseason there is speculation that Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf could be traded. He is a good, but not yet great, player, who blends a rare mix of speed, size, and strength. The question often asked, however, is why he is not even more productive.
In 2024, he was surpassed as WR1 for Seattle by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN is a fluid receiver, very quick, and with better hands than Metcalf. He still does not have his fellow receiver's size and speed, though. Maybe Smith-Njigba is simply more versatile than Metcalf and a far better route-runner.
Still, 12s know that Metcalf can be extremely explosive, and he often does his best work in important games. He has been a playoff menace to other teams when given the chance. He also does not back down from a fight (literally). But the main reason that the receiver's name gets bandied about more than other Seahawks in terms of potential trades is that he is one of the few Seattle players with real trade value.
What should the Seattle Seahawks expect back if the team trades wide receiver DK Metcalf?
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon might be the other player who would have high trade value, but Seattle is not going to entertain shipping the young corner anywhere else.
Metcalf should only be traded if the team knows they will get great value for him, and then the Seahawks could use the value added to transform a troublesome position group either in a trade back from the team Metcalf is sent to or in the draft. In other words, Seattle would get a high enough choice in the 2025 NFL draft to make moving Metcalf worthwhile.
But what could the team reasonably expect?
Metcalf is still young enough (he is only 27 years old) to have a number of potentially highly productive seasons in the league. With the right system, he could likely eclipse 1,400 receiving yards. But would he bring a first-round choice back in a trade? That is unlikely.
In 2024, the biggest trade of a top-end receiver was Stefon Diggs. He was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Houston Texans for a second-round draft pick. But Buffalo also has to send along with Diggs a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round selection.
There were a number of receiver trades in 2022 and several of those receivers did bring back a first-round choice. All had more sustained productivity than Metcalf, however, except for one. Hollywood Brown was sent from the Baltimore Ravens to the Arizona Cardinals. That turned out to be a massive blunder for Arizona as Brown did not have more than 709 receiving yards in either of his two seasons with the Cardinals, and he is no longer on the team.
The other high-end receivers involved in 2022 trades included Tyreek Hill (the Kansas City Chiefs have not missed him as they have won the Super Bowl in each of the last two seasons), A.J. Brown, and Davante Adams. All of them got their former teams back at least one first-round choice. Adams is no longer with the team he was traded to, the Las Vegas Raiders, however.
In other words, teams are likely more leery to give away first-round choices in a trade for a wide receiver because several of the more recent moves have not paid off. Most likely, if Metcalf is traded by the Seahawks, he will only bring back a second-round pick. That should not be worth it to Seattle.
