**Player: WR DK Metcalf**
**Stock Value: Down**
**Reasoning:** _The Steelers are paying DK Metcalf $30 million per year to be a superstar, but he is not even making the routine plays routinely. While he caught a touchdown this week, he continues to put balls on the ground. Notably, the Steelers are not targeting him deep, though that’s partly a byproduct of a shaky offensive line._
The Steelers invested a lot in DK Metcalf, so they can’t exactly call a mulligan. Not that they should need to, but the reality is he isn’t off to the best start of his Steelers career. Through two games, depending on how you slice it, he already has three to five drops or so. At the very least, he is not making most of the tougher catches, and even missing some layups.
Through two games, Metcalf has seven receptions on 13 targets for 103 yards and a touchdown. On Sunday, he caught four of seven targets for 20 yards and a touchdown. But he couldn’t make anything happen after the catch, unlike last week. In Week 1, he produced 68 yards after the catch, which was the highest total of his career.
One of the issues is the fact that the Steelers haven’t been able to get the ball to DK Metcalf down the field. While he can work the slants, Metcalf is, primarily, a deep-ball player. During his Seahawks career, he had a 12.7-yard average depth of target. While the sample size is almost negligible, so far, his average depth of target with the Steelers is 5.6.
That has a lot to do with a young and struggling offensive line that isn’t playing as a unit. While Broderick Jones has his specific issues, they are having issues with fundamental concepts, like passing off stunts. If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t even have time to look downfield, Metcalf can’t possibly see those targets.
But that doesn’t excuse him from not executing underneath. Metcalf showed what a threat he can be with his big body with his red-zone touchdown, but the drops are adding up. Is it rust from not playing in the preseason and limited time working with Rodgers? The Steelers better hope so. He never had the surest hands in history, but he needs to be much better. Even if you don’t want to call some passes drops, he needs to catch in traffic.
_With regular season on the way and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that_ [_change the team talked about_](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/02/steelers-make-their-coaching-changes-they-still-manage-to-disappoint/) _after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant._
_After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and_ [_the 2025 NFL Draft_](https://www.nfl.com/draft/)_, and now we’re into the real thing__. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?_