DK Metcalf was pivotal in the Seahawks’ wild-card win. Here’s what his coach thinks has fueled the rookie’s stellar season
Pete Carroll remembers how shaken some of his current and former Seahawks players were the day they were drafted.
There was never a more “dissatisfied” fifth-round pick than Richard Sherman, Carroll said Monday morning on his weekly radio show with 710 ESPN Seattle.
More than a year after he became the 25th cornerback taken in 2011, Sherman detailed how “livid” he felt that day, when he vowed to become the best corner in the league eventually.
“He was mad at me the whole time,” Carroll recalled with a chuckle. “I said, ‘We were the ones that did pick you, why are you mad at me, man?’ … But there’s something to that.”
The disappointment in being drafted in a lower round than a player expected, Carroll said, creates a powerful mentality.
He saw it during the six seasons Sherman played for the Seahawks. He saw it in former Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who went undrafted in 2011, and was “one of the most fiery free agents of all-time.”
He’s seen it in his longtime quarterback Russell Wilson, who is so consistently positive and optimistic, but “never wanted to be a third-round pick” back in 2012.
That moment when players get drafted late, or go undrafted, sticks with them, Carroll says, and those guys play with a chip on their shoulder.
“I really appreciate that kind of mentality,” Carroll said. “You can’t get enough of that.”
He’s seeing it again, now, with rookie wide receiver DK Metcalf, who after dropping to the Seahawks in the second round last spring — he was the ninth receiver picked — has turned in stellar numbers in his first professional season.
“That’s one of the most powerful motivators of all-time,” Carroll said of Metcalf playing with a chip on his shoulder. “I’m sure it fuels him now, and I hope it continues to fuel him.”
Through Seattle’s wild-card playoff win over the Eagles on Sunday, Metcalf has piled up 1,060 yards and eight touchdowns on 65 catches.
He set the NFL record for receiving yards by a rookie in a playoff game in Philadelphia, finishing with 160 in the 17-9 win. That was also the most receiving yards ever by a Seahawks player in a postseason game.
Both his 53-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter and game-sealing 36-yard grab on a deep post route in the final seconds of the fourth were pivotal in sending Seattle to the divisional round.
Carroll said it’s obvious now, after getting to know Metcalf, that the 22-year-old wants to prove how capable he is.
At 6-foot-4, 229 pounds, the Seahawks already knew who they were getting physically in Metcalf last spring. But, it’s his daily approach that has made his impact so significant. Metcalf is on the JUGS machine after practice catching passes “until they shut it down and unplug it,” Carroll said. Metcalf continues to work on developing his chemistry with Wilson. And he’s curious, and he asks questions, which Carroll said is one of the “main attributes of somebody who’s a great competitor.”
“He’s a guy that demonstrates that, even as a young kid,” Carroll said. “Everybody thinks he’s got it made and everything is easy for him and all of that. He doesn’t approach stuff like that. He’s trying to figure out how to be right, how to be better, how to accomplish the tasks, the job, and he does it with a great, complete mentality about it. …
“To me (a great competitor is) just a guy that just is constantly having to find a way to be at (his) best. It’s really obvious. Everybody competes and tries and all of that, but some guys just have this curiosity that takes them further, and they ask more questions, and they dig deeper and they work harder and they find their way to do the hard work even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Metcalf is one of those guys, and could again play a crucial role when the Seahawks travel to Green Bay on Sunday.
“It’s all part of that makeup that he wants to prove it,” Caroll said. “And it’s going to fuel him. He’s already off to a fantastic start, and we’ve got a lot more football. We’ll see how it shows this week.”
MORE MARSHAWN
Carroll said running back Marshawn Lynch “felt good” after completing his second game back with the Seahawks since re-signing with the team on Dec. 23 and expects to play Lynch more against the Packers.
“I think we can increase his role and allow him to be a little bit more active part of it,” Carroll said. “He does bring an element we love, and it’s that style and toughness. We saw it on the sidelines when he’s dumping guys out of bounds. We saw it on the goal line when he’s smacking it into the end zone after getting hit on about the 3 or 4; he still finished it off.”
Lynch took 18 offensive snaps against the Eagles, finishing with 7 yards on six carries, including a 5-yard touchdown run. He played 23 snaps against San Francisco his first week back and had 34 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
‘THERE WAS SOME CONTACT THERE’
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was removed from Sunday’s game with a head injury after playing just two series in the first quarter.
It was later determined the injury occurred during a collision with Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney when Wentz was scrambling on a first-down play.
Clowney drove his right shoulder into the quarterback’s back, and landed on top of him, causing clear helmet-to-helmet contact, but he was not flagged. Officials said postgame Wentz was a runner, did not give himself up, and the contact was incidental and did not rise to the level of a foul.
Wentz was later shown on the sideline rubbing his forehead, was taken to the locker room and did not return.
“There was some contact there,” Carroll said. “Helmet-to-helmet happened, but he was just chasing the guy down. Unfortunately, (Wentz) also hit the ground with his head. I think it was the initial hit that probably hurt him the most, but the bang-bang aspect of that puts him in a bad situation.
“I know JD had no intention of being involved with that kind of hit at all. He was just trying to get him down.”
INJURY UPDATES
Carroll did not have updates on the likelihood of left tackle Duane Brown (knee) and guard Mike Iupati (neck) returning for Sunday’s game in Green Bay.
Carroll said he was pleased with how Jamarco Jones and George Fant filled in against the Eagles, and is comfortable with keeping the offensive line configuration the same against the Packers should Brown and Iupati not return.
“If they don’t make it back … we’re going to stay like we were this week,” Carroll said. “They came through in really good fashion and we’ll count on those guys to play well again.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 12:14 PM.
