Steelers Now
Last season, DK Metcalf served the role the Pittsburgh Steelers were expecting when they traded for him. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound receiver arrived in the Steel City eight yards shy of three straight 1,000-yard seasons, then led the black and gold with 850 receiving yards and six touchdown grabs.
NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal believes that Metcalf’s hype might have been overblown, though.
“At a certain point in the DK Metcalf development, we probably overrated his development,” Rosenthal said last week on the “NFL Daily” podcast. “Like, ‘Hey, he’s not just ‘this.’ He’s started to develop more than he was as a prospect.’ And maybe that’s true, but what he does, dunking on people … if he’s not a totally complete guy, that’s fine. He was stuck with Aaron Rodgers. He still is. You want him as a deep threat and it doesn’t work as well, but that’s not his fault.”
The Steelers sent the Seattle Seahawks a second- and seventh-round draft picks for Metcalf, who had a sixth-rounder attached to him.
Metcalf was suspended for the final two games of last regular season after an incident with a fan in Detroit. The Steelers traded for Michael Pittman Jr. and drafted Germie Bernard in the second round, but Metcalf figures to remain Aaron Rodgers’ top target this upcoming season.
“His gravity is really important,” Rosenthal said. “Arthur Smith really didn’t help him out, and so I feel good. I think people were hoping maybe he’d become a top 5-10 receiver, and he’s not that guy. It doesn’t matter. He’s extremely valuable for what he does.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Analyst: Steelers Might Have Overrated DK Metcalf Before Trading For Him
