2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report: D.K. Metcalf

2019 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2019 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State Trey Adams, OT, Washington Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware Josh Allen, LB, Kentucky Zach Allen, DE, Boston College DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State Garrett Bradbury, C, N.C. State A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma Brian Burns, DE/OLB, Florida State Devin Bush, LB, Michigan Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State Raekwon Davis, DT, Alabama Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State Noah Fant, TE, Iowa Jaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana Tech Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma Ryan Finley, QB, N.C. State Rashan Gary, DT, Michigan Will Grier, QB, West Virginia Terrill Hanks, LB, New Mexico State Damien Harris, RB, Alabama N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa Joe Jackson, DE, Miami Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama Jalen Jelks, DE/OLB, Oregon Elgton Jenkins, C, Mississippi State Daniel Jones, QB, Duke Dremont Jones, DT, Ohio State Tre Lamar, LB, Clemson Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson Chris Lindstrom, G, Boston College Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss Drew Lock, QB, Missouri Bryce Love, RB, Stanford Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame Erik McCoy, C, Texas A&M D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson Byron Murphy, CB, Washington Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma Ed Oliver, DT, Houston Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State Shea Patterson, QB, Michigan Jachai Polite, DE, Florida Taylor Rapp, S, Washington Riley Ridley, WR, Georgia Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State Darnell Savage, S, Maryland Jeff Simmons, DT, Mississippi State Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia Clayton Thorson, QB, Northwestern Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame Mike Weber, RB, Ohio State Devin White, LB, LSU Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson Greedy Williams, CB, LSU Joejuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama Oshane Ximines, LB, Old Dominion Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple

D.K. Metcalf, 6-4/228 Wide Receiver Ole Miss

D.K. Metcalf Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Mismatch height and weight

Elite straight-line speed

Runs away from defenders

Very fast running vertically downfield

Tracks the ball well

Dangerous after the catch

Tough to tackle

Balance

Late hands

Impressive one-handed catch skills

Red-zone weapon

Thick frame to push defensive backs around

Experienced and successful against good college programs

Very strong

Upside

Weaknesses:

Route running

Inexperienced in the route tree

Lacks fluid agility

Could have separation issues from No. 1 NFL corners

Doesn’t high point the ball as well one would think

Should be more of a physical bully with defensive backs

Neck injury

Concerning lack of production

Summary: Under former head coach Hugh Freeze, the Ole Miss Rebels put together a lot of strong recruiting classes that produced a lot of early-round NFL talent. Among those players were Laremy Tunsil, Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell, Robert Nkemdiche, Breeland Speaks and more. After Freeze was fired amid scandal, some of his talented recruits who interest NFL teams remained at Ole Miss. D.K. Metcalf is one of those players, and he is favorite to be the first wide receiver selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Even though Metcalf is an incredible physical talent, he did not catch a lot of passes during his collegiate career. He played in 21 games for Ole Miss, totaling 67 receptions for 1,228 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a freshman, Metcalf played in two games, catching two passes for 13 yards and two touchdowns. The 2017 season was the only year he played in 12 games, hauling in 39 passes for 346 yards and seven scores. In 2018, Metcalf went out for the year with a neck injury after seven games. Prior to that, he was playing well, exploiting a lot of man coverage with teams focused on stopping A.J. Brown. In his final season, Metcalf totaled 26 receptions for 569 yards and five touchdowns.

The things that really set Metcalf apart are mismatch size and speed. He has excellent height and strength to be a size problem on the perimeter. That size makes him tough to tackle and a threat to make any reception as he can win 50-50 passes over defensive backs. He is a red zone-weapon who could be a point producer as a pro.

Metcalf also has freakish straight-line speed, and that was illustrated at the NFL Scouting Combine when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds. Off the line of scrimmage, Metcalf is very fast at running straight go routes down the field, and he can burn defensive backs by just running by them. He is a threat to score on any reception as once he has the ball in his hands because he can run away from the defense. Metcalf tracks the ball very well, using late hands to make receptions. He shows nice concentration and ability to make one-handed catches.

While Metcalf has a great skill set, he is not necessarily a polished wide receiver. His route-running needs to be developed because he did not run the route tree at Ole Miss. Because Metcalf is so muscle bound, he is not that agile in and out of breaks. That, along with his short-area quickness, could be problematic for him generating separation in the NFL.

Along with his route-running, it would be good to see Metcalf be more physical with defensive backs. Given his strength and size, he could be, and should be, a bully who pushes defenders around. That could really help him to be even more effective on 50-50 passes and press coverage. For a big wideout, Metcalf surprisingly does not high point the ball that well. The physicality and high pointing the ball are things that he could easily improve upon with NFL coaching.

Metcalf may end up being a shot receiver who runs down the sideline and tries to use his speed to run by defenders or his size to make catches over them. Making plays like that and doing back-shoulder receptions could make him effective enough even though his route-running and agility limit him.

Not all teams had Metcalf graded in the first round entering the NFL Scouting Combine, but his workout was so good that he looks very safe to be selected on the opening night of the 2019 NFL Draft. He may not go as high as the media hype suggests, but his mismatch size and speed should have some teams looking at him as a future No. 1 wide receiver and a top candidate for their first-round pick.



Player Comparison: Alshon Jeffery. Metcalf and Jeffery (6-3, 218) are similar receivers as size mismatches who have the speed to make plays downfield. They carry their weight differently, as Metcalf is all muscle while Jeffery has had bad-weight issues. In the NFL, I could see Metcalf being a receiver similar to Jeffery.

NFL Matches: New York Jets, Buffalo, Miami, New England, Washington, Cleveland, Baltimore, Oakland, Indianapolis, Green Bay, Arizona, San Francisco and Jacksonville

There are a lot of potential landing spots for Metcalf in the 2019 NFL Draft. In the AFC East, he could land with any team. Miami needs more receiving weapons for its offense, while the Jets have a poor receiving corps and need to give Sam Darnold more play-makers. Meanwhile, Buffalo needs a wide receiver to stretch the field for Josh Allen. Metcalf could make sense for New York or Buffalo. If the Jets trade down as expected, Metcalf could definitely be in play for them. The Patriots could use some youth at wideout as well, and Metcalf could give them an outside receiver to work with their slot players. New England would likely have to trade up for Metcalf.

The Redskins could consider adding more receiving weapons. Josh Doctson was a pick by the previous general manager and has been a disappointment. If Washington does not take a quarterback in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Metcalf could easily be the team’s pick.

In the AFC North, Metcalf has a few landing spots. Cleveland could use more receiving talent for Baker Mayfield, so Metcalf could interest the organization in Round 1. Pittsburgh also might consider taking a receiver to replace Antonio Brown. The Steelers are going to need more talent around JuJu Smith-Schuster. Baltimore could use more receiving talent for Lamar Jackson, and Metcalf would bring a size/speed mismatch to the Ravens’ offense.

The Raiders need some long-term weapons for Jon Gruden’s offense, and Metcalf would be a nice scheme fit in Gruden’s west coast system. With their pick from the Bears or Cowboys, Metcalf could make sense for the Raiders as a complement to Antonio Brown.

Elsewhere in the 20s, Indianapolis could use more receiving weapons for Andrew Luck, and Metcalf would give the team a big wideout to go with T.Y. Hilton. At the 30th pick, Metcalf could be in play for the Packers, as they could use more play-making talent for Aaron Rodgers.

Some teams picking high in the second round could trade back into the first round for Metcalf. Christian Kirk was a nice addition by the Cardinals, but they could use more receiving weapons. Adding a wideout with size would make sense for Arizona because Larry Fitzgerald is nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career.

2019 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2019 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State Trey Adams, OT, Washington Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware Josh Allen, LB, Kentucky Zach Allen, DE, Boston College DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State Garrett Bradbury, C, N.C. State A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma Brian Burns, DE/OLB, Florida State Devin Bush, LB, Michigan Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State Raekwon Davis, DT, Alabama Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State Noah Fant, TE, Iowa Jaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana Tech Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma Ryan Finley, QB, N.C. State Rashan Gary, DT, Michigan Will Grier, QB, West Virginia Terrill Hanks, LB, New Mexico State Damien Harris, RB, Alabama N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa Joe Jackson, DE, Miami Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama Jalen Jelks, DE/OLB, Oregon Elgton Jenkins, C, Mississippi State Daniel Jones, QB, Duke Dremont Jones, DT, Ohio State Tre Lamar, LB, Clemson Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson Chris Lindstrom, G, Boston College Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss Drew Lock, QB, Missouri Bryce Love, RB, Stanford Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame Erik McCoy, C, Texas A&M D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson Byron Murphy, CB, Washington Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma Ed Oliver, DT, Houston Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State Shea Patterson, QB, Michigan Jachai Polite, DE, Florida Taylor Rapp, S, Washington Riley Ridley, WR, Georgia Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State Darnell Savage, S, Maryland Jeff Simmons, DT, Mississippi State Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia Clayton Thorson, QB, Northwestern Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame Mike Weber, RB, Ohio State Devin White, LB, LSU Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson Greedy Williams, CB, LSU Joejuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama Oshane Ximines, LB, Old Dominion Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple

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