The Seahawks have a habit of making the right call look obvious after the fact, and the D.K. Metcalf trade is heading that way in a hurry.
Seattle dealt the star receiver to Pittsburgh last offseason for the 52nd overall pick and a small late-day-three pick swap. On paper, that was a real gamble. Metcalf was 27, had been productive for six seasons in Seattle, and had plenty of talent to make the return look light if he kept rolling in a Steelers uniform.
That’s not how this has gone.
Metcalf’s 2025 season was uneven enough already, with 59 catches for 850 yards, and it ended with a suspension for the final two regular season games. This year has been far worse.
Through the first two games of 2026, he has just 8 catches on 18 targets for 67 yards and no touchdowns. He already has three drops, which is nearly his total from last season, and he’s been flagged twice for offensive pass interference.
Pittsburgh, as the source of the problem puts it, can’t score.
That matters because Seattle didn’t just avoid paying Metcalf the $150 million extension he signed in Pittsburgh. They also used the draft capital in a way that looks increasingly sharp.
The 52nd pick was part of a package that moved up to No. 35, where the Seahawks took Nick Emmanwori. They also had the 50th pick, which they used on Elijah Arroyo.
So the trade can be viewed one of two ways: Seattle got about 60% of an elite Swiss Army knife on defense, or it got a backup tight end. If Emmanwori is the player the Seahawks think he is, this becomes the kind of move teams talk about for years. If not, it still looks like a strong deal with room to grow.
John Schneider has seen both sides of this business. His Russell Wilson deal with Denver in 2022 became one of the biggest heists in NFL history, while the Jamal Adams move is a reminder that not every swing connects. This one is tracking in the right direction.
And even if Metcalf suddenly rediscovers his game, Seattle doesn’t look like a team that misses him. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has emerged as perhaps the No. 1 receiver in football, and the rest of the Seahawks’ wideout room together cost roughly the same as Metcalf alone. Right now, the verdict is getting louder by the week: another home run for Seattle.
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