As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. DK Metcalf, surprisingly, was not one of the first rookie wide receivers off the board in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season making teams who passed on him regret it. If you pass on DK Metcalf in your 2020 fantasy football drafts, will he make you regret it?
DK Metcalf ADP and AAV:
Standard: WR14, 37 overall
PPR: WR23, 53 overall
Average Auction Value: $8
DK Metcalf Statistics:
| Year | 2019 |
| G | 16 |
| GS | 15 |
| Tgt | 100 |
| Rec | 58 |
| Yards | 900 |
| TD | 7 |
| Tgt/G | 6.25 |
| Rec/G | 3.63 |
| Rec% | 58.0% |
| Yds/Tgt | 9.00 |
| Yds/Rec | 15.52 |
| Year | 2019 |
| Std Pts | 129.1 |
| HPPR Pts | 158.1 |
| PPR Pts | 187.1 |
| Pts/G | 8.1 |
| HPPR Pts/G | 9.9 |
| PPR Pts/G | 11.7 |
| Pts/Tgt | 1.29 |
| Pts/Tgt (HPPR) | 1.58 |
| Pts/Tgt (PPR) | 1.87 |
| Year | 2019 |
| Air Yards | 1296 |
| aDOT | 13 |
| YAC | 273 |
| YAC/Tgt | 2.73 |
| YAC/Rec | 4.71 |
| YAC% | 30.3% |
| AYMS | 26% |
| Tgt MS | 19% |
DK Metcalf Overview:
A lot of ink was spilled about DK Metcalf and his potential transition to the NFL last season. He was big, fast and strong. Nobody would doubt that. His big problem was his lack of polish and diversity of routes. Plus, a lot of people (myself included) wondered where they would find targets for Metcalf in a limited passing attack in Seattle.
When the dust settled on DK Metcalf’s rookie year, Metcalf led all rookie wide receivers in targets. I would say they found some targets for Metcalf. Specifically, they found 100 of them which Metcalf turned into exactly 900 yards. Since 2010, ten rookie wide receivers have hit those numbers, and it puts Metcalf in some lofty heights. Odell Beckham, Amari Cooper, Mike Evans, Michael Thomas, A.J. Green, and Keenan Allen make up most of the list. It’s an illustrious list to be on for sure and usually means it’s the start of a good career. Wait… what is Kelvin Benjamin doing there?
For Metcalf and the Seahawks in 2019, it seemed as though one route was enough.
DK Metcalf Draft Strategy:
DK Metcalf Auction Value: $8
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
The question hasn’t become “should we take DK Metcalf as a top-24 wide receiver,” it has turned into “should we take DK Metcalf before or after we take Tyler Lockett?” For me, I’m still going Lockett before Metcalf. We can’t forget that Lockett had a nasty leg injury against the 49ers that sent him to the hospital. Early reports didn’t take amputation off the table. He returned… the next week. Now, call me crazy but you can’t go from “almost losing your leg” to back on the field with little problem. As such, the Seahawks started to lean on DK Metcalf, getting him slightly increased target volume (though a really weird one-target week fifteen gets in the way of pacing this out). He should be really good this season, but better than Lockett? I doubt it.
I like DK Metcalf for 2020, I just wanted to get that out of the way. However, his price in PPR leagues is too low (WR23) and his price in standard is too high (WR14). However, those two do make a good range of picks wherein I’m comfortable taking Metcalf as my second wide receiver. Russell Wilson has said that he wants to throw more, which should benefit Metcalf. Metcalf showed last year that he belongs on the field by putting up numbers reserved for stars (and Kelvin Benjamin). I have no problem snagging him in the fourth-round if that’s where you are so inclined.
Best Case Scenario:
Metcalf doubles the routes on his tree to two and leads the league in yardage.
Worst Case Scenario:
This is the year Russell Wilson BS runs out and Metcalf is left sad and alone, without any targets to speak of that could make him a valuable fantasy football commodity.
[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com and airyards.com]
