Young at heart: Metcalf beyond his years at WR
Already the top target for Seahawks, 22-year-old still has so much time to grow
PHOENIX — You wouldn’t know it by watching him overwhelm the NFL’s reigning defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore for a touchdown catch, as he did against the Patriots last month.
You can’t tell by looking at the 6-foot-4, 229-pound wide receiver, who hulks over just about everybody on just about every field.
But DK Metcalf is, still, just 22 years old.
And he’s precocious.
Five games into his second NFL season he’s the league’s leader in yards per catch (22.5). Yet he is not satisfied that he has “only” the third-most touchdown receptions among NFL wide receivers (five).
“They are like Pokemon to me,” Metcalf said of TD catches.
“I’ve got to have them all.”
Chances are he has Pikachu. But does Seattle’s man-child secondround draft choice last year have all the collector cards from all the characters of Nintendo’s long-running video game that is wildly popular with kids?
“Not yet,” Metcalf said. “Still working on it.”
His work on securing all the touchdown catches gets more difficult Sunday night. He and the Seahawks (5-0) try to keep their best start in team history going and increase their NFC West lead at Arizona (4-2).
The Cardinals have one of the handful of so-called “lockdown cornerbacks” in the league. Patrick Peterson often shadows the top receiver of the opposing offense each week.
Even Metcalf called Peterson “a lockdown” this week.
Tyler Lockett is still the trusted target of quarterback Russell Wilson on third downs and during scrambles. But on the two fourth downs Seattle had to have in its comeback win in the final seconds over Minnesota in its previous game, Wilson looked to Metcalf.
Their connection on fourth and goal with 15 seconds left improved the Seahawks to 5-0.
With Wilson training with and trusting Metcalf like a younger brother after just a year and a half together, the second-round pick in 2019 has become, early in year two, Seattle’s top big-play threat at wide receiver. In fact, the Cardinals considered Metcalf Seattle’s top receiving threat last season. They had Peterson shadowing Metcalf all around CenturyLink Field in these division rivals’ previous meeting.
Metcalf had as many catches as you did Dec. 22. Wilson targeted him just one time that day at CenturyLink Field, a career-low. The playoffbound Seahawks got smacked by the homeward-bound Cardinals 27-13.
“They kind of took me out the game,” Metcalf said this week, for the only time in his young career.
“And you know, we just couldn’t catch a rhythm on offense.”
But, Metcalf said: “We learn from those mistakes, learn from games like that.”
This week, Arizona defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told reporters in the desert “it won’t be one person’s job” to cover Metcalf Sunday night.
But chances are high it will primarily be one person’s job again. Peterson’s.
“DK is having a great year so far,” Peterson told Arizona reporters. “He’s definitely becoming the go-to guy for Russell. You can tell he’s gained a ton of confidence.
“We’re going to have our hands full, with what their offense is capable of and what they love to do. They love to take those shots but keep you balanced. They are number one in the league (33.8 points per game) for a reason.”
Metcalf says the big-man-versusbig-man battles he had with Gilmore and won in week two and those he will have again with Peterson Sunday night are fun.
“Oh, yes, sir,” Metcalf said. “Because you know he’s studied me, as I’ve studied him.
“It’s just a big matchup that we are going to see who wins.“
He calls it a compliment when others teams have their best cover man shadow him.
“In my mind, I feel like I must be doing something right,“Metcalf said.
Peterson, 30, has also been known as a supreme trash talker during games. And he usually backs it up. He’s three-time All-Pro. He has been selected to eight Pro Bowls.
That December game was the first time they faced each other; Peterson was suspended for the first Seahawks-Cardinals game last season, in Arizona. Metcalf said Peterson played something of a mind game that December afternoon in Seattle.
“We’re going to see about it Sunday,” Metcalf said.