Steelers Now
A former player of the Pittsburgh Steelers believes the best is still to come from wide receiver DK Metcalf.
Wide receiver DK Metcalf‘s first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t bad by any means, but he certainly left a little bit to be desired, given what the team is paying him. Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch doesn’t expect that to happen again, though.
Batch recently revealed that he expects Metcalf to drastically improve in 2026, thanks to another year with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be improved big time,” Batch said on his Snap Count podcast. “When you look at just where both were at, of course Aaron’s been 18 years in this system. … Now you bring it back here. So they can go back and look at the film and say, ‘How can you now use his strength and weaknesses?’ So I think that’s gonna be something they continue to build on. … You expect that jump to go from year one to year two.”
Metcalf had the first sub-900 yard season of his NFL career last year, finishing the season with just 59 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns.
Part of that was due to the two-game suspension he received for his interaction with a Detroit Lions fans near the end of the season, but that was a part of Metcalf’s 2025 story that must be accounted for.
If Metcalf can avoid any more off-the-field distractions this season while continuing to build upon the chemistry he has developed with Rodgers, it is certainly feasible that he could have his best season yet.
The Steelers will likely throw the football a lot more than they have under new head coach Mike McCarthy, and Metcalf will still be the focal part of the offense after signing a four-year, $132 million contract extension last offseason.
A second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, Metcalf has recorded 497 catches for 7,174 yards and 54 touchdowns in his professional career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steeler Expects Big Improvement From DK Metcalf in 2026
