The Pittsburgh Steelers just made an absolute blockbuster move on tampering period eve as they traded the Seattle Seahawks for WR DK Metcalf to make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league. They made another big move on the same day a year ago when Russell Wilson announced his plan to sign with the Steelers. With Metcalf in Pittsburgh, what could that mean for Russell Wilson? And what about WR Tyler Lockett? Could the band be getting back together?
As for Wilson, bringing in Metcalf to pair with George Pickens and speedsters like Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson could make a lot of sense. Wilson’s best trait as a passer is his moon ball, and now he could conceivably have an abundance of targets of all shapes and sizes to throw them to. It was one thing for teams to take away Pickens to shut down the deep-passing game, but that won’t be so easy with Metcalf in the equation.
During the first three seasons of Metcalf’s career, he caught 216 passes for 3,170 yards and 29 TDs. Wilson helped deliver Metcalf his first Pro Bowl appearance and his only second-team All-Pro nod. That 2020 season is still probably Metcalf’s best season to date.
While Metcalf remained productive once Wilson left Seattle, he went from having 29 TDs in three seasons to having 19 in the following three.
Here’s an old clip of the Wilson-Metcalf connection via Ari Meirov on X.
As for Lockett, Wilson has called him the best toe-tapping WR in the league. He was a favorite target of Wilson’s in Seattle for a long time and they have a tremendous amount of chemistry.
The Seahawks released Lockett as a cap casualty this past week. Lockett spent his first seven seasons in the league catching passes from Wilson with Metcalf joining them for the final three of those.
Before Metcalf joined the team, Lockett caught 194 passes for 2,781 yards and 19 TDs in four seasons. While all three of them were together, Lockett’s number skyrocketed to 255 receptions, 3,286 yards and 26 TDs in just three seasons.
Meanwhile, Russell Wilson’s numbers were among the best of his career while Metcalf and Lockett were together in Seattle. He completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 11,435 yards, 96 TDs, and 24 INTs over that span. That included an impressive adjusted net yards per passing attempt figure of 8.33.
The three of them together yielded special results. It’s obvious several years later, but they just might be able to recapture some of that in Pittsburgh.
What would this scenario mean for George Pickens, Calvin Austin, or Roman Wilson? That remains to be seen, but the Steelers are clearly not afraid to make large changes to get over the playoff hump that has been plaguing them for years.
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