How well will DK Metcalf fit in new Seahawks OC Waldron’s offense?

If DK Metcalf’s two stellar pro seasons so far are any indication, the big, fast and strong wide receiver may have the brightest future of any player on the Seahawks’ roster.

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He has already has made a Pro Bowl, broke the team record for most receiving yards in a season last year, and at just 23 years old is actually younger than Seattle’s top pick from the 2021 draft, fellow receiver D’Wayne Eskridge.

Something big is changing as Metcalf enters his third season with the Seahawks, however: the team’s offense.

Seattle has a new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, who made the journey up I-5 from his previous role as the Los Angeles Rams’ passing coordinator to install a new system for head coach Pete Carroll’s squad, and that offense will have a lot of wrinkles to it that could mean a lot more for Seattle’s receivers to handle.

Related: Heaps translates Carroll’s confusing explanation of new offense

Is that something that might throw Metcalf for a loop, perhaps more so than for Tyler Lockett, the more experienced half of the Seahawks’ potent 1-2 receiver combo?

“I don’t worry about Tyler Lockett and how he’d fit into the Seahawks’ offense, but I do wonder about DK Metcalf,” 710 ESPN Seattle’s Paul Gallant said on a recent edition of Danny and Gallant. “And it’s mainly from this perspective: We know DK Metcalf can run the deep route, we know DK Metcalf when he comes across the middle as well – especially when he has a full head of steam … we know that he’s really good in that spot. But I do wonder about those ‘battleship’ tendencies that we know that he had in college and maybe the fact that he’s not the same kind of route runner Tyler Lockett is. I wonder how that might affect his fit in Shane Waldron’s offense.”

Michael Bumpus, a Seahawks analyst and former NFL wide receiver, is not concerned, as he explained to Gallant.

Here’s the full response from Bumpus:

“First, we have to look at what DK brings to the table. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s strong. You have to expect him to be the leader when it comes to the deep ball. You can’t sleep on Tyler Lockett because he has a knack for putting space between him and the defender and can catch the tough ball over the shoulder or on the sideline, so he’s good as well. But just off of his physical attributes, there’s no way Shane Waldron is not going to use (Metcalf) down the field throwing the ball deep.

“Now let’s talk about his evolution. Last year was really the first time we saw him in the slot a lot, so he’s adding stuff to his game. If you are playing in the slot, you’re going to have to do a lot of sit-down routes, a lot of shallow routes. I think they’re going to use DK and Lockett in as many ways as possible because it’s not as easy to pick up tendencies when you can do that. Every year I’ve seen DK add something to his game. Last year was the best I’ve seen him when it comes to running routes and I’ve seen him catching a bunch of slants whereas the year prior, he was just down the field. So I think they will use him in any way that he can handle.

“If he can prove that he can run these shorter routes sitting in zones and doing all that stuff, they’re going to use him. But initially, he’s going deep. They’re going to take the lid off of defenses and take their shots. But it’s all about what he can handle. And if he can progress the way I’ve seen over the past couple years, I would assume they’re going to use him all over the field – intermediate, deep, short, everything.”

You can hear the full conversation plus more Seahawks discussion from the daily Blue 42 segment in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

Follow Brent Stecker on Twitter.

More on DK Metcalf and new Seahawks OC Shane Waldron

• Danny and Gallant: Waldron should study an All-Pro for ways to use Metcalf
• Metcalf says Seahawks WRs have new routes, and that could be big
• Heaps: Metcalf will solidify himself as a superstar WR in 2021

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