Seahawks’ Metcalf reflects on his draft experience, describes ‘weird’ offseason

One year ago, the life of Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf changed forever when Seattle drafted him with the 64th overall pick.

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A star at Ole Miss who lit up the NFL Scouting Combine, Metcalf was one of a handful of prospects invited to the first day of the draft in Nashville, Tennessee, a memorable experience for the young receivers.

“I asked the Uber (driver) ‘can you just show us around Nashville, like let’s just ride around,'” he told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom, Jake and Stacy Wednesday. “I was just taking it all in and I was reading all the weaknesses they said about me and NFL.com and just taking it all in the day before the draft and I was just enjoying my last day as a non-NFL player.”

Some had projected Metcalf to be one of the first receivers taken in the draft. Instead, Metcalf was passed on in the first round, so he and his family drove back to Mississippi. It was there where the Seahawks selected him at the end of the second round. The phone call he got from general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll went viral, as Metcalf was overcome with emotion, asking why Seattle waited so long to get him.

“It was just a roller coaster,” he said.

Metcalf quickly turned doubters into believers, as he ended his rookie campaign with 900 yards, second most by a Seahawks rookie ever, and seven touchdowns. Additionally, he set an NFL rookie playoff record with 160 yards in his first career playoff game.

Now, Metcalf will try to build off the strong season. But it’ll be more challenging now than usual, as the sports world is at a bit of a standstill due to the coronavirus outbreak across the U.S. It’s unclear whether training camps and practices will start on time. Metcalf is taking the situation in stride.

“This is a weird offseason,” Metcalf said, “but I just wake up every morning and (at) 7:30 or 8 I work out and then I go do a little position work if the day calls for it. Then, after that, I’m at home, chilling, playing games for the rest of the day.”

Even though he exceeded expectations in 2019, Metcalf has things identified that he is working on to improve for 2020 and beyond.

“My expectations are just to get better each year and just continue to build off what I did last year,” he said. “I know I had some drops I need to clean up. Just get in the playbook more so I can be more versatile in the offense and put us in better situations to win.”

With the future unclear, Metcalf is trying his best to keep in contact with his teammates, especially his fellow receivers. Metcalf said not seeing them all the time is the hardest part of the country’s shutdown.

“I miss it a lot. I was just talking to Tyler (Lockett) and (David Moore) the other day and every time right after we get done talking about what we were talking about, we’ll always say ‘bro, I miss you out there’ and we can’t wait to get back on the field or just get back to meetings and just start joking around again because I forgot how good those times were and just kind of took it for granted a little bit being around the team,” Metcalf said.

One offseason activity that football fans always look forward to is rookie training camp, which typically is held in early May, before organized team activities and training camp. Since that may not happen this year, Metcalf offered some advice to 2020 rookie receivers.

“I would just say try to connect with your quarterback and your receiver coach as fast as you can and just show them that you’re willing to learn and put yourself ahead of the chains once training camp or the season does roll around,” he said.

You can listen to Metcalf’s full interview with Tom, Jake and Stacy, which includes discussion about his affinity for strawberry milk and what ice cream he likes, at this link or in the player below.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom Wassell, Jake Heaps and Stacy Rost on Twitter.

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• What can the Seahawks do in the draft to maximize Wilson’s talent?

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