It’s safe to say that as we near the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks don’t exactly miss DK Metcalf. The emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba has certainly done the bulk of the work in that regard.
After all, the Seahawks' new WR1 is enjoying an excellent breakout season, leading the NFL in receiving yards and first downs through the air. Metcalf, on the other hand, is mired in mediocrity with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Metcalf had another pedestrian performance in primetime against the Green Bay Packers, catching five passes for 55 yards and a score. It’s not an awful outing by any stretch of the imagination, but his full body of work through the first eight weeks of the season has Seattle’s front office comfortable with their decision.
Seatlle Seahawks fans can finally stop wondering “what if” about DK Metcalf
In seven games, DK Metcalf has caught 27 of 43 targets for 461 yards and five touchdowns. The only meaningful statistics Metcalf ranks in the top 20 among pass catchers are yards per reception and touchdowns. Still, it’s clear watching the Steelers offense at work the stark difference in a team with Metcalf as the top wideout vs. Smith-Njigba.
Metcalf’s most recent showings include drops in contested coverage, an interception stripped out of his hands on the sideline, and a personal foul on 3rd and 2. What his physical makeup and athletic traits would lead football fans to believe are his strengths are undone time and time again.
Make no mistake, had Metcalf never been traded, he’d still be treated as a WR1, which means fewer targets for JSN and a less efficient offense for Seattle. Between that and his shoddy production, Seahawks fans haven’t been given much reason to be curious about the alternate reality in which Metcalf stuck around and Smith-Njigba still had his breakout season.
But the 2025 season might just prove that the breakout season wouldn’t have happened if Metcalf were still in Seattle. Metcalf currently outpaces Cooper Kupp in pretty much every stat, which may incline some Seahawks fans to consider it a better outcome. But with Metcalf still around, JSN isn’t getting 70 targets in the first seven games. He and Metcalf would likely hover around 50 each instead.
Thankfully, the hypotheticals are irrelevant. The only truth is that week after week, the Seahawks receive more validation that they made the right move in shipping Metcalf to Pittsburgh and investing in Smith-Njigba with an increased target share with Kupp as his counterweight in the offense.