The Seattle Seahawks are shockingly blowing it up this offseason, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the primary beneficiaries. On Sunday, the Steelers sent a second-round pick to Seattle in exchange for star wide receiver DK Metcalf, who subsequently got a five-year, $150 contract.
Metcalf requested a trade from the Seahawks after a contract dispute — a theme of this Seattle offseason — and he now gets a new landing spot and a big heap of cash.
When the trade request dropped, Metcalf had a few preferences of what he wanted in a new team. One of those reported requests was that Metcalf be sent to a warm-weather city which, well, Pittsburgh does not exactly qualify for. However, Metcalf does not mind heading to Pittsburgh and is ready to go, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media.
“DK Metcalf wanted a fresh start, a new contract and — most important — a chance to win,” Pelissero reported on X, formerly Twitter. “He did not, according to his representation, say anything about playing in a warm climate. Metcalf is all-in on playing in Pittsburgh and the rugged AFC North.”
Whether the Steelers give Metcalf a chance to win a championship is a debate in itself as the Steelers look for their next quarterback and try to rebuild their offense, but he should help them be more explosive at the very least on that side of the ball.
DK Metcalf is an odd fit with the Steelers
The thinking for the Steelers when making the DK Metcalf trade was very clear: Pittsburgh needed to get more explosive, and Metcalf does just that. However, he is still an interesting fit within the offense.
Metcalf has very clear and defined strengths and weaknesses. Despite his incredible size and speed for the position, he is not very good at the catch point and his tendency to be a body catcher hurts him against tight coverage. To compound that weakness, Metcalf is also not a very good separator on most routes in the route tree. His route running is not sharp, he has a fumbling problem and he can cost the team with penalties at times.
However, his sheer size and speed is still an absolute nightmare for defensive coordinators. The Ole Miss product is one of the best vertical threats in the NFL because of how difficult it is to press him at the line and get into his body combined with his ability to outrun cornerbacks.
Interestingly, that skillset is very similar to that of George Pickens. Pickens is not quite the straight-line runner that Metcalf is and is amazing at the catch point, but both are primarily vertical threats on the outside.
Maybe the Steelers want to move off of Pickens due to his attitude and inconsistency. Regardless, the way the Steelers build out their offense in 2025 is a very intriguing storyline after this move.
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