Bump: How Seahawks’ DK Metcalf fooled defense on TD catch

The Seattle Seahawks are monitoring the health of wide receiver DK Metcalf after he reportedly suffered a sprained MCL in Sunday’s victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The latest on Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf’s injury

Metcalf was hurt in the third quarter of the contest and did not return, but he still finished with four receptions, a game-high 99 receiving yards and one touchdown.

But before Metcalf’s early exit, he did something that impressed Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wideout Michael Bumpus.

Bumpus detailed how Seattle’s standout wide receiver excelled at something he’s not particularly known for and looked like a “skilled receiver” on his touchdown reception Monday during Four Down Territory on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

The play

The Seahawks were facing third-and-15 from the Falcons’ 31-yard line with just 10 seconds left until the half. So it was looking like a spot for the Seahawks, who were leading 10-7 at the time, to try and pick up a chunk of yardage with a throw near the sideline to shorten up the length of a field goal for kicker Jason Myers.

Instead quarterback Geno Smith climbed the pocket and fired a dart to Metcalf in the end zone for an improbable 31-yard touchdown connection and a 17-7 lead with 4 seconds until the half.

That's how to end the half!! pic.twitter.com/cTY1zH3tQO

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 20, 2024

The catch itself wasn’t necessarily one for the highlight reels, but how the sixth-year wide receiver got himself open for Smith against the Tampa 2 coverage run by the Falcons was what impressed Bumpus.

In a Tampa 2 look, both safeties drop back to cover the deep halves of the field. But unlike a regular Cover 2 scheme where all of the linebackers cover the short-to-intermediate zones in the middle of the field, the middle linebacker drops farther back to cover a deeper zone in the middle of the field that is underneath the safeties and behind the other linebackers.

In simplified terms, the defense is set up to defend against deep passes and force opponents to look for shorter completions. But Metcalf showed some route-running savvy to bait the safety on his side of the field into giving him enough space to get open in the end zone.

“DK knows (his) body language has to tell the safety that (he is) gonna break out to the out (route), so that safety expands naturally,” Bumpus explained. “When the ball is snapped, they’re gonna expand anyway. So DK inside releases at the top of his route, he starts to bend it to the left (outside), he looks over his left shoulder and puts that left foot in the ground and snaps (the route) hard (inside to the right). That allows the safety to expand even more and gives them just enough space for Geno to step up in the pocket and throw that football.”

The route running ability Metcalf displayed came just a week after he took the blame for a poorly ran route leading to a Smith interception in a loss the division rival San Francisco 49ers.

“If DK can just do that every single game (and) look like a skilled receiver, man, he’s gonna ask for $30 million and you might have to pay him 30 million if you want to keep him, despite how you might feel about it,” Bumpus said. “But when he does things like that in that 6-4, 235-pound frame, it makes him special. He’s second in the league right now when it comes to (receiving) yards for a reason, and he’s still got some throws that he wants back.”

Listen to former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus’ Four Down Territory segment at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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