Daniel Jeremiah: What Seahawks could get if they traded DK Metcalf

One of the biggest long-term decisions facing the Seattle Seahawks is whether they should extend star wide receiver DK Metcalf this offseason.

Salk: Why Seattle Seahawks should explore a DK Metcalf trade

The 26-year-old Metcalf is in the second season of a three-year, $72 million contract extension he signed in July 2022. His $24 million-per-year average currently ranks 13th among NFL receivers, according to OverTheCap.

Given the booming state of the receiver market, Metcalf is in line to make significantly more on his next contract. In June, Minnesota star wideout Justin Jefferson signed a record-breaking four-year extension worth $35 million per year. And in August, Dallas star receiver CeeDee Lamb inked a four-year extension worth $34 million annually.

That essentially leaves the Seahawks with two options. They could sign Metcalf to a massive extension this offseason, which would limit their ability to spend on other positions. Or if they decide against paying big money to keep him in Seattle long term, they could trade Metcalf at some point before next season, which would free up salary-cap space and bring back strong value in return.

In a column posted Wednesday morning, Seattle Sports’ Mike Salk laid out why he believes the Seahawks should explore trading Metcalf. Salk argues Seattle would be better served allocating its resources toward bulking up the trenches and improving its struggling offensive line than paying top-tier money to a wide receiver.

“My argument on DK has a lot less to do as who he is as a player and (rather) just the positionality of it,” Salk said Wednesday morning on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “If you say you want to be a physical football team and your offensive line stinks, why would you continue to pay more money for a wide receiver who can’t help you with that when he might bring back something (valuable in a trade)? Why would you want to pay a wide receiver if that’s your goal?”

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who was making his weekly appearance on Brock and Salk, was then asked for his reaction to Salk’s idea of Seattle trading Metcalf and redirecting its resources toward the line of scrimmage.

“I think that’s fair,” Jeremiah said. “I think that’s a fair point. Look, you build the house with the foundation first, and that’s the line of scrimmage, and that’s where they’ve gotta get better. So if you can take resources to do that from the outside and dump those resources on the inside, I get that. That’s the identity that you’re searching for.

“It’s hard for me to argue against that logic, if that’s the direction they really want to take the team.”

"I'd be tempted, that's a big haul at this point in time." — Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks)

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— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) October 16, 2024

What would a DK Metcalf trade yield Seattle Seahawks?

If the Seahawks opted to trade Metcalf, they could do so either ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline or at some point in the upcoming offseason.

How much value could a star receiver like Metcalf bring back in return? Jeremiah said he thinks Metcalf would be worth a third-round pick plus a conditional third-round pick that could become a second-round pick if he meets certain conditions or performance measures.

“That’s probably what you’re looking at,” Jeremiah said.

Salk responded by asking why the market has changed from two years ago, when Tennessee traded star receiver A.J. Brown to Philadelphia for a first-round pick and a third-round pick. Metcalf and Brown have a lot of similarities. They were college teammates at Ole Miss, were selected just 13 picks apart in the 2019 NFL Draft and have both put up big numbers while earning multiple Pro Bowl nods.

“I think what’s happened is that a lot of these GMs are looking at the draft board every year and just seeing that every single year there’s a new wave of wide receivers that are coming in,” Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah pointed to Green Bay as an example. In 2022, the Packers traded five-time Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams to Las Vegas for a first-round pick and a second-round pick. One year later, Green Bay selected Michigan State receiver Jayden Reed in the second round of the 2023 draft. And this season, Reed ranks seventh in the NFL with 442 receiving yards.

“Look at what Green Bay did,” Jeremiah said. “Instead of looking at all that teams gave up to get these star receivers, look at what most of these teams have done to replenish after that guy left – Green Bay being the poster child.”

Salk’s co-host Brock Huard, a FOX football analyst and former NFL quarterback, followed by asking what the 2025 offensive line draft class looks like. That’s because if the Seahawks were to trade Metcalf for draft picks, Salk would like to see that draft capital invested in the trenches.

“From everybody that I’ve talked to that’s been out and seen all the top guys, the word ‘depth’ with offensive line probably is used more than ‘high, high-end guys,'” said Jeremiah, who was a scout for the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles before going into the media. “But where the Seahawks are at with some of these positions, it’s like, man, I would love to (just) get a C. I’ll take a C on a test.

“I mean, A’s are great, but I can pass my classes here if I can just go from some of these D’s and F’s to C’s and B-minuses.”

Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seahawks

• The problems Mark Schlereth sees in Seahawks’ run defense
• Seahawks Injury Report: Key DT returns to practice, but 5 sit out
• Seahawks place another key defender on injured reserve
• Hype Train: Will the Seahawks make more trades before deadline?
• Why Bump feels Seattle Seahawks can fix their lacking run game

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