Road to WR1: DK Metcalf

At 6-foot-4 and 230-235 pounds, with elite speed (4.33 40-yard dash time at the 2019 NFL Combine) that shows up on game tape, DK Metcalf is a unique breed of athlete. In five NFL seasons, he has never had less than 900 yards and has consistently been a top fantasy option.

Finishing fifth in the league in yards per reception last season (16.9) masked the fact Metcalf had the second-lowest catch (66) and target (119) totals of his career. Such is life when the Seahawks had three good wide receivers, without the passing volume (575 attempts; 17th in the league) to make all three highly productive.

Andy Behrens of Yahoo Sports offered a key thing as it relates to Metcalf, the Seahawks' proverbial WR1.

"But if Metcalf ever finds himself in a system that feeds him truly elite volume, there’s zero question he has the skills and traits necessary for a break-the-game season."

Enter new Seahawks' offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who comes from the University of Washington. The Huskies were first and second in the country in passing yards per game over the last two seasons, along with being top-five in pass attempts in both campaigns. Three Washington wide receivers — Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan — were taken in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Path to WR1: DK Metcalf

So let's presume a noticeable increase in passing volume for Seattle's offense as they move away from the Pete Carroll era to implement a faster pace with more plays. New head coach Mike McDonald also offered, talking to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network last month, the idea of moving Metcalf around the formation.

"I can tell you this: We want to get DK the ball a lot, too," Macdonald said. "It feels different now when 14 is out there. He is a big, imposing, fast, powerful receiver. We're really excited about it. We've talked about it since we got here in February — plans for him, Tyler [Lockett], Jaxon [Smith-Njigba], Noah [Fant] and our backs. And what it would look like and how we can move guys around and make DK a moving target for defenses, where they have to account for him at all times but it's gonna be hard to find him."

Counting the playoffs throughout his career, according to Pro Football Focus, Metcalf has never had a slot snap share of 20 percent. He also hasn't been very effective out of the slot.

According to Tru Media (h/t to Jared Dubin of CBS Sports), Metcalf has had just one season where he averaged over 1.5 yards per route run out of the slot and two where he averaged less than a yard per route run when operating inside. By comparison, he has never averaged less than 1.81 yards per route run as an outside receiver. Last year, he averaged a career-best 2.28 yards per route run on the outside.

A different offensive system could unlock something for Metcalf as a slot receiver. He would certainly be a physical mismatch for almost any cornerback who might line up across from him inside. Better balance in his left-right-alignment as a perimeter receiver (it has dramatically favored left in his career) feels like an obvious thing to come in a new system.

Back to Behrens' inquiry. Metcalf's career-high for targets is 141, in 2022. Beyond a career-high 90 catches that year, his other numbers landed disappointing (1,048 yards, six touchdowns).

There's a chance Metcalf will push toward the target leaders in the league this year (150-plus), and he's likely to maintain a hefty share of the red zone work in Seattle's offense. So there's upside potential that has not been there before, to add to the general reliability he has shown.

The path to finishing as the overall WR1 this year will not be easy for Metcalf, but it does exist as Seattle's offense moves toward modern functionality.