Are the Steelers already ‘badly’ losing the DK Metcalf trade?

While we’ve paid a lot of attention to the wholesale ineptitude of the Las Vegas Raiders following the Geno Smith trade and Pete Carroll hiring, we’ve not really looked too much at how former Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver DK Metcalf has fared with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I’m fully aware that Andrew Fillipponi is a bit of a polarizing and provocative Pittsburgh sports radio personality, so don’t take everything he says at face value, but perhaps this tweet will put a smile on your face.

I’d also add that the Steelers subsequently traded away George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, and Pickens already has career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns playing with Dak Prescott and not a who’s who of has-been and never-was quarterback play in Pittsburgh.

Metcalf had a pretty good start to his Steelers career with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. He began with four catches for 83 yards against the New York Jets, then scored touchdowns in four straight games (including against the Seahawks) and had as many receiving yards against the Minnesota Vikings (126) as the entire Seahawks group just managed on Sunday.

Since the calendar flipped to November, Metcalf has done little to back up his status as one of the league’s highest paid receivers.

These are Metcalf’s stats in each of his last five games:

• 2 catches (4 targets) for 6 yards vs. Indianapolis Colts

• 3 catches (7 targets) for 35 yards vs. Los Angeles Chargers

• 5 catches (8 targets) for 49 yards vs. Cincinnati Bengals

• 5 catches (8 targets) for 22 yards, two rushes for 12 yards and a rushing touchdown vs. Chicago Bears

• 3 catches (5 targets) for 32 yards vs. Buffalo Bills

Total: 18 catches for 144 yards, 0 receiving touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdownSeason Total: 45 catches for 605 yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown

To put it another way, Metcalf had fewer yards in the whole of November than Jaxon Smith-Njigba had in one game against the Tennessee Titans. Metcalf had six fewer receiving yards in November than Tyler Lockett did with the Las Vegas Raiders; Lockett didn’t even catch a pass in his first Raiders game.

At the moment, Metcalf is on pace for career lows in receiving yards, yards per target, and close to his career low for receptions per game. Unless there’s a slight uptick over the final five weeks, Metcalf’s average depth of target will be the shortest of his career. There are zero major stats in which Metcalf, who hasn’t missed a game, ranks in the top 15. The only things he’s performing much better than most of his Seahawks tenure are yards after catch, which is a career-best 7.5, as well as a 75% conversion of catches into first downs (his best since 2020).

One thing that hasn’t changed regarding DK? The unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Metcalf has matched his career high in total penalties (8) with five games left in the season. He’s been flagged for offensive pass interference three times already. The same problems persist in Pittsburgh, except he’s playing with an ancient, aging quarterback whose skill set is incompatible with Metcalf’s long ball proficiency.

The good news for Metcalf is he hasn’t fumbled once with Pittsburgh, but turning this into an interception is as good as a fumble. Incidentally, Metcalf’s contested catch rate remains poor at 35 percent.

Obviously, this is not all on Metcalf. The Steelers do not have a credible second wide receiver and indeed Calvin Austin III has all of 26 catches for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a WR2. Aaron Rodgers is also 42 years old, beat up, and on the cusp of retirement. Neither he nor Mason Rudolph has completed a pass of 20+ air yards over the last five weeks, and if they’re not accurate then no receiver is going to consistently feast.

At the time of the Metcalf trade, it was reported by ESPN’s Brady Henderson that DK had wanted out for awhile. The Steelers weren’t necessarily a preferred landing spot compared to the Houston Texans or Los Angeles Chargers, but Pittsburgh was willing to pony up a second-round pick and give Metcalf a four-year, $132 million contract. A $33 million/year receiver needs to perform like an elite player, and so far the only top 10 APY receivers he’s outproduced have all missed significant time to injury. For all of the supposed “gravity” Metcalf commands from opposing defenses due to his tremendous speed, it shouldn’t be this easy for him to be a non-factor in games. He’s not the first WR1 in NFL history to have extra attention paid to him by opposing defenses.

Ironically, Metcalf might be doing better in Seattle in a system heavily dependent on explosive plays and with a quarterback who’s been slinging it all around the yard at a great clip all season. Of course, perhaps Metcalf’s inclusion means we don’t get Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s ascension as one of the best receivers in the league, and perhaps there would be some complaints over not getting the ball enough.

It’s early days on this trade, but given the early promise of Nick Emmanwori, the rise of JSN in the Seahawks offense without Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and the so-so numbers Metcalf is putting up on a Steelers team that will either be a quick first-round exit or miss the playoffs, I think Mr. Fillipponi’s hyperbolic sounding take may end up proving undeniably true in a few years.