DK Metcalf living up to Seahawks expectations in leading rookie receivers in catches, yards

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The Seahawks weren’t the least bit shy about heaping expectations upon rookie wide receiver DK Metcalf this offseason.

Russell Wilson was already calling Metcalf “really, really special” in June. Pete Carroll was calling Metcalf “a big threat” during the preseason.

So far, Metcalf is doing everything he can to live up to those expectations. Through the first 14 weeks of the NFL season, Metcalf leads all rookie wide receivers with 50 catches for 783 yards. He has three more catches that Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers and four more yards than former Mississippi teammate and Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown.

What exactly has enabled Metcalf to flourish to such an extent in an offense generally thought to be a run-first attack?

“You start with the talent, I think. You start with the fact that the minute we got him, nobody was more excited than Russell Wilson. That’s a huge advantage,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said on Thursday. “You see him out here every day. You see him sitting over there still catching passes (from the jugs machine). Meanwhile, most of the other guys are getting showered up getting ready for meetings. He’s a special young man. He wants to be great.”

Metcalf had six catches for 78 yards against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night despite the Rams using cornerback Jalen Ramsey to match up against him frequently throughout the game. A 35-yard catch up the sideline Metcalf made over Ramsey had Schottenheimer singing his praises on Thursday.

“The catch he made on the scramble play down on the boundary on Jalen Ramsey, the throw was terrific, but the catch was unbelievable,” Schottenheimer said. “I thought he really accepted the challenge. Last game, he got matched by Jalen. He didn’t back down at all. That was really cool to see. You go watch him play and he didn’t back down at all. We told him to get used to it. He’s going to see stuff like that a lot because he’s such a dynamic player. Nothing surprised us just because of the way he works and the type of talent that he has.”

Metcalf is on pace to put up the second-best rookie receiving season in franchise history behind only the 67 catches for 1,039 yards and seven touchdowns of Joey Galloway in 1995. He likely won’t get to Daryl Turner’s rookie touchdown mark of 10 touchdowns either. However, Metcalf is still showing the ability Seattle raved about over the summer.