DeKaylin Zecharius "DK" Metcalf (born December 14, 1997) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
wide receiver for the
Seattle Seahawks of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Ole Miss. He is the son of former NFL guard
Terrence Metcalf
Terrence Orlando Metcalf (born January 28, 1978) is a former American football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for the University of Mississipp ...
.
Metcalf was born and raised in Oxford, Mississippi, where he played football both at Oxford High School and at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
, also known as Ole Miss. He played at Ole Miss for three seasons before declaring for the
2019 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Seahawks in the second round.
Early years
Metcalf was born on December 14, 1997, in
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...
. He attended
Oxford High School in Oxford, Mississippi. During his
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
career, he had 224 receptions for 3,302 yards and 49
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s. Regarded as a
four-star prospect, Metcalf was ranked the No. 14 wide receiver prospect by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
. He committed to play
college football at the University of Mississippi.
College career
As a freshman at Ole Miss in 2016, Metcalf appeared in the first two games of the season before suffering a foot injury which ended his season. He was granted a
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...
following his injury. He had two receptions for 13 yards with both of the receptions going for touchdowns. In 2017, he had 39 receptions for 646 yards and seven touchdowns. During the 2018 season, Metcalf had 26 receptions for 569 yards before sustaining a season-ending neck injury against
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
. After his 2018 season, Metcalf declared for the
2019 NFL Draft, forgoing his last two years of college football. He finished his career with 67 receptions for 1,228 yards and 14 touchdowns.
College statistics
Professional career
2019
Metcalf was selected by the
Seattle Seahawks in the second round as the 64th overall pick in the
2019 NFL Draft, the ninth of 28 wide receivers. On May 22, 2019, Metcalf signed a four-year deal with the Seahawks worth $4.6 million.
Metcalf played his first regular season game on September 8, 2019, against the
Cincinnati Bengals, where he made four receptions for 89 receiving yards as the Seahawks won 21–20. This set a franchise record for total receiving yards by a player making his NFL debut, eclipsing Hall of Famer
Steve Largent
Stephen Michael Largent (born September 28, 1954) is an American former football wide receiver and politician who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. A member of the Republican Party, he serve ...
's previous record of 86 yards. In Week 2 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Metcalf caught three passes for 61 yards, including his first career touchdown, as the Seahawks won 28–26. In Week 8 against the
Atlanta Falcons, Metcalf recorded three catches for 13 yards and two touchdowns in the 27–20 win, Metcalf's first career game with multiple touchdowns. The following week against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, Metcalf set new career highs in receptions and receiving yards, with six catches for 124 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and a 29-yard catch on 3rd down in overtime that set up a game winning touchdown a few plays later. It was his first career 100-yard game. He also caught a two-point conversion that tied the game at 21 in the third quarter. Metcalf finished the regular season with 900 receiving yards (third among NFL rookies) on 58 receptions with seven receiving touchdowns, second on the team in all three categories to
Tyler Lockett
Tyler Deron Lockett (born September 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college f ...
. Metcalf was ranked 81st by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
In the
Wild Card Round against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, Metcalf recorded seven catches for 160 yards and a touchdown in the Seahawks' 17–9 victory. This set the NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in a playoff game.
2020
In Week 1 against the
Atlanta Falcons, Metcalf caught 4 passes for 95 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown reception, during the 38–25 win. In the following week's game against the
New England Patriots, Metcalf caught four passes for 92 yards and a 54-yard touchdown during the 35–30 win.
In the first quarter of the Week 3 game against the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
, after catching a 61-yard pass, Metcalf slowed to a jog and held the ball out with one hand, seemingly unaware that a defender was behind him.
Trevon Diggs
Trevon De'Sean Diggs (born September 20, 1998) is an American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 202 ...
knocked the ball free of Metcalf's grasp before he broke the plane of the endzone, and the fumble traveled out of bounds for a
touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to tra ...
. The gaffe was compared to
Leon Lett
Leon Lett Jr. (born October 12, 1968) is a former American football defensive tackle and coach who is the assistant defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Lett previously played in the NFL for 11 seaso ...
's infamous fumble in
Super Bowl XXVII. Despite the blunder, the Seahawks won the game 38–31. Metcalf finished with 110 receiving yards, including the 29-yard game-winning touchdown. In Week 4 against the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, he had four receptions for 106 yards in the 31–23 victory.
In Week 5 against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
on ''Sunday Night Football'', Metcalf recorded six catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown reception with 15 seconds left in the game, during the 27–26 win.
In Week 7 against the
Arizona Cardinals, Cardinals' safety
Budda Baker intercepted a
Russell Wilson pass inside the Cardinals' 5-yard-line, and with a clear path ahead and no Seahawk with comparable speed near him, Baker appeared destined for a
pick six. However, even though the 195 lb Baker had a 4-yard running head-start halfway across the field, the 229 lb. Metcalf chased down Baker and tackled him at the Seattle 8-yard line, preventing a touchdown. On their ensuing possession, Arizona failed to score, turning the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass from the 3-yard line. Metcalf reached a top speed of 22.64 mph (36.43 km/h), making it the second-fastest in pursuit in the NFL to that point in the season. Ironically, the play was also compared to Leon Lett's
Super Bowl XXVII gaffe, yet this time in a far more favorable light.
The play was met with awe by fans and athletes alike, and became the basis for a popular meme on social media.
In Week 8 against the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, Metcalf caught 12 receptions on 15 targets for 161 yards and two touchdowns, including a 46-yard touchdown catch-and-run during the 37–27 win. In Week 12 against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
on ''Monday Night Football'', he had ten receptions for a career-high 177 receiving yards during the 23–17 win.
Metcalf finished the season with 1,303 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. With 1,303 receiving yards, Metcalf set the franchise record for the Seahawks, surpassing
Steve Largent's record from 35 years prior. He was named a second-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
in 2020 alongside
Bobby Wagner and
Jamal Adams as the other Seahawk All-Pros.
In the
Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the
Los Angeles Rams, Metcalf recorded five receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard touchdown reception, during the 30–20 loss.
Metcalf was ranked 22nd on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2021 for his performance during the
2020 season.
2021
Earlier in the year before the start of the NFL season, he participated in the 100 meter part of the
USATF
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 a ...
Golden Games and Distance Open in
Walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''.
Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
, California. He hoped to qualify for the
Olympic trials with this performance. Though he indeed didn't qualify, he had a "respectable" time of 10.37 seconds, beating out 2 of the 17 other competitors.
In Week 3 of the
2021 season, Metcalf hauled in 6 receptions for 107 yards in a 17–30 loss against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
. Two weeks later, he recorded 5 catches and 98 receiving yards for 2 touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks' division rival
Los Angeles Rams. Despite his efforts, the Seahawks lost 17–26 in the “
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
” matchup.
In another primetime matchup with Week 7's
Sunday Night Football game against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, Metcalf caught 2 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. On one of these catches, Metcalf connected with quarterback
Geno Smith
Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to multiple bowl game ...
for an 84-yard touchdown catch-and-run, with 57 yards coming after the catch. The play was the longest in both Smith and Metcalf's careers. In addition, Metcalf clocked in at a top speed of 21.21 mph, making it the second-fastest play of his career as a ball-carrier. The Seahawks lost the game, 10–13. In the following week's game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
, Metcalf finished with 6 receptions for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Seahawks won 31–7.
In the Seahawks’ Week 10 game at Green Bay, Metcalf grabbed the face masks of
Green Bay Packers safety
Henry Black and cornerback
Eric Stokes in a frustrated response to Seattle's inability to score points in the game. He was ejected and tried to enter back into the game, but to no avail. In a shutout, the Seahawks lost 0–17.
In Week 16, Metcalf caught six receptions for 63 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, contributing 18 points in a blowout 51–29 win against the
Detroit Lions.
With a final record of 7–10, the Seahawks failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in Metcalf's career. Metcalf finished the season just 33 yards shy of the 1,000 receiving yards mark, with 967 yards. He recorded a total of 75 receptions and 12 touchdowns, the latter of which was a career-high. He led the Seahawks in receptions and receiving touchdowns, while his receiving yards were second to Tyler Lockett. The season was also his last with quarterback Russell Wilson, who was traded to the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
the following offseason.
2022
On July 28, 2022, Metcalf and the Seahawks agreed to terms on a three-year, $72 million extension with $58.2 million guaranteed and a $30 million signing bonus. In Week 4, against the
Detroit Lions, he had seven receptions for 149 receiving yards in the 48–45 victory.
NFL career statistics
Postseason
NFL records
*Most receiving yards by a rookie in a playoff game: (160 vs.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
on January 5, 2020 in the Wild Card Round)
Seahawks records
*Most receiving yards in rookie debut: (89 vs.
Cincinnati Bengals on September 8, 2019)
*Most yards in a season: 1,303 (2020)
Personal life
Metcalf's father,
Terrence, was an offensive lineman in the NFL.
After
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
announcer
Joe Tessitore
Joseph William Tessitore (born January 1, 1971) is an American sportscaster for ABC and ESPN. He leads ESPN's world championship fight broadcasts as the blow-by-blow broadcaster for Top Rank Boxing on ESPN, serves as a play-by-play announcer f ...
mistakenly called him "Decaf Metcalf", Metcalf partnered with Volcanica Coffee. Beginning in December 2019, 16-ounce bags of coffee labeled "Decaf Metcalf" began selling on the company's website. Part of the proceeds from the coffee sales will be donated to
Prison Fellowship
Prison Fellowship is the world's largest Christian nonprofit organization for prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for justice reform.Mark Oppenheimer ''New York Times'' (April 27, 2012).
History
Prison Fell ...
, an organization Metcalf has a long-standing relationship with.
Metcalf is a
born-again Christian.
References
External links
*
Collegiate statistics at Sports-Reference.comSeattle Seahawks bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalf, DK
1997 births
Living people
African-American Christians
African-American players of American football
American Christians
American football wide receivers
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Ole Miss Rebels football players
Players of American football from Mississippi
Players of American football from Seattle
Seattle Seahawks players
Sportspeople from Oxford, Mississippi