Now in his sixth NFL season, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf has played for three different offensive coordinators despite remaining with the team that drafted him.
Former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is the most recent and current hire, brought in this offseason with the head coaching change from Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald.
Metcalf played under Brian Schottenheimer from 2019–20 then Shane Waldron from 2021–23.
Before Metcalf missed two games from Weeks 8–9, he was on pace for a career-high in receiving yards. Now, even with Jaxon Smith-Njigba breaking out, Metcalf is still on pace for 1,107 yards in 2024, which would be his third-straight 1,000-yard season.
Metcalf said he had no concerns about Grubb’s scheme transferring over to the NFL. He was confident it would be effective in year one.
“For [Grubb’s] first year in the NFL, I want to just congratulate him for all the success he’s had,” Metcalf said on Wednesday. “He’s handled this offense very well … The offensive line has grown a lot, so I think we’ve had our valleys, but the peaks during the season, I think he’s handled well … He’s done a hell of a job in my opinion, and hopefully, he can continue to bring success.”
Grubb gives the offense a motivational quote each week, Metcalf said, and that’s the theme of the week. Metcalf, at least, has “taken heed” to those quotes, he added.
Before the bye, the offense was productive but mistake-prone. The offense committed 14 turnovers over the first nine games of the season. They’ve only turned it over twice in four games since the bye.
Seattle also led the league in penalties at one point but has now fallen to fourth in the NFL. That's far from where the team would like to be, but still an improvement.
“Well, he came in here after the bye week and lit a fire under us like, ‘Hey guys, we got to fix our mistakes. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot on offense,’” Metcalf said. “First with the offensive holding penalties, and then with the false starts, and then just making us get more into our details with the run game and the pass game to where the coaches, the players, me, Geno (Smith), and everybody’s on the same page. So after the bye week, we start meeting as an offense, even after practice, watching film together, making sure everybody’s on the same page instead of more individual meetings.”
The Seahawks posted 30 points in Week 14 for the first time this season without the help of a defensive touchdown. That was a result of an improved run game — which posted a season-high 176 rushing yards — and an efficient pass game that continues to be fueled by Metcalf and Smith-Njigba.
Grubb is the engineer of the scheme. There have been growing pains, with long stretches of fruitless possessions at times, but no first-time NFL coach will be perfect in their first season.
The attention to detail post-bye, as Metcalf mentioned, has also been critical. That’s setting the culture of the offense.
“We’ve been meeting after practice together, so the communication is more open, so we get to make more adjustments on the fly because I hear what Geno [Smith] is thinking inside the meeting with Grubb right here coaching him,” Metcalf said. “We could just ask more questions on my routes or in the run game with the offensive line sitting in here as well, the running backs know how to hit the hole a specific way or Geno [Smith] knows how to hand the ball off a specific way. So just the communication aspect has been different.”
Seattle’s next opponent, the Green Bay Packers, has the 13th-ranked defense in yards per game. That unit is bolstered by the ninth-ranked run defense that is giving up 106.9 ground yards per game.
The Seahawks struggled on the ground all season until last week. Playing the Packers, especially in primetime, will be the next tough test for Grubb’s offense.
Metcalf hasn’t surpassed 100 yards receiving since Week 4 versus the Detroit Lions, but he also hasn’t had less than three catches for 48 yards during that stretch. Grubb will try to get his physical receiver going on Sunday Night Football.
