The 2019 Seattle Seahawks are going to be a playoff team. I just know it. Kind of like I just knew Jon Snow was going to kill the Mother of Dragons four episodes before he actually did the terrible deed. The writing is so telegraphed that you find yourself talking yourself out of reasons why it won’t happen, but it does… to no surprise by anyone paying attention. This is reason 16 as to why the 2019 Seattle Seahawks are playoff bound.

DK Metcalf, Rookie Wide Receiver out of Ole Miss.

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Why is Metcalf in position to make an impact?

Have you seen pictures of this guy? It seems like he was created in a laboratory five miles below EA Sports just in time for Madden 20. At 6-3 228 lbs, this dude runs 4.3 speed and has an INSANE vertical jump. In his rookie season, his job will be pretty straight forward. Literally. It’s to use that big body to run block, and then use that speed to get down field, and out jump safeties and corners for one of the best deep passing quarterbacks in the game. It still baffles me how this guy slid to the bottom of round two in the draft where Seattle traded up to take him. I know he was injured in college, and ran a limited route tree at Ole Miss, but, however, folks, please, there are some things that you simply can not teach, and that size and speed combination is one of them.

I was wavering quite some as to where I would be placing him in my top twenty list for impact Seattle Seahawk players. I have to be honest, I had a decent impulse to place him much closer towards the top ten, but the only thing that gave me pause is that, in general, it can take a lot of receivers time to adjust to the NFL game coming out of college, and in Pete Carroll’s system, he tends to favor players that have been in his system a bit longer, especially on the offensive side of the ball. This is how Jermaine Kearse kind of stayed ahead of Paul Richardson even though Richardson had more flash and draft pedigree. It might well be a situation where Metcalf picks things up quickly though camp and forces his way onto the field early like as the cases were for Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett as rookies, or it could be like Golden Tate, and essentially his first year is a red shirt.

Based on OTA’s and minicamp reports, I’m going to guess Metcalf is going to be much more closer to the Baldwin/Lockett camp than the Richardson/Tate camp this year, though. In his press conferences, you could sense Carroll’s excitement in this guy, and it seems like the early impression is that he is a lot better route runner than scouting reports were giving him credit for. He is also a dedicated worker, and folks are saying that he’s generally a smart football dude. My gut is telling me that Metcalf didn’t like that big slide at all, and has come into Seattle with the mindset to prove 31 other teams just how bad of a mistake they made not drafting him earlier.

Before the draft, it was believed he would probably be taken at some point in the first round. When that didn’t happen and he almost slid out of round two, anyone watching the draft could sense his mammoth frustration. It was almost difficult to watch. This was a guy with ridiculous size who destroyed the NFL Combine two months earlier, and teams were shying away from him. Were they out thinking themselves?

Yeah, the safe bet is that he will make an impact his rookie year. I think the dude will be on a mission, and it just so happens that he is paired with possibly the best QB in the league to uncork his particular skill set. Russell Wilson loves the deep ball. Everyone in the league knows this. All defensive coordinators know this. That is why having Metcalf on the field matters. Defenses have to account for this. I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple other receivers have more catches, surely Lockett and possibly even David Moore or someone else, but I think a lot of that will be because of the Metcalf factor. With him on the field, Seattle has a legitimate split end with a monster frame.

I am really excited about this guy.

Go Hawks.