Sixteen months after Seattle sent DK Metcalf to Pittsburgh, the deal looks a lot different than it did on draft-day hindsight. What once felt like a steep price for the Seahawks now reads like a transaction that helped reshape both sides of the roster - and tilted the balance squarely toward Seattle.
The headline piece for the Seahawks was the No. 52 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, with the teams also swapping sixth- and seventh-round selections to complete the move. That return turned into more than just a single draft asset. Seattle later used the pick to move up in the second round to No. 35 and select South Carolina defensive back Nick Emmanwori.
Emmanwori has already given the Seahawks a major return. He has been a breakout player and looks capable of becoming one of the defense’s foundational pieces for years. His value comes from range and force: he can run with fast receivers in coverage, and he can also be deployed to help disguise coverages because he brings linebacker-like physicality.
That defensive payoff came alongside a huge offensive one. With Metcalf out of the picture, Jaxon Smith-Njigba stepped into the role Seattle had been building toward.
Instead of functioning mainly as a complement, he became the centerpiece. Smith-Njigba led the league in receiving yards with 1,793 and added 10 touchdowns, helping power one of the NFL’s best offenses.
The usage shift mattered as much as the numbers. Smith-Njigba was deployed more like he had been at Ohio State, rather than the way he was used in his first two seasons, when he was often asked to draw attention away from Metcalf. This time, the offense put more plays on his plate and made him the top target for Sam Darnold.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has not gotten the full version of Metcalf yet, though the door is still open. In his first season with the Steelers, he posted 59 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns while missing two games because of injury. The yardage and touchdown totals were solid, but the 99 targets were the fewest of his career.
The Steelers also used Metcalf’s arrival to reshape their receiver room, which allowed them to trade George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens responded with a breakout season in Dallas, finishing with 1,429 receiving yards, third-most in the league behind Puka Nakua of the Los Angeles Rams and Smith-Njigba.
Metcalf is now in the first season of his four-year, $132 million extension, so Pittsburgh still has time to get more out of the move. But with Seattle coming away with a Super Bowl, a star turn from Smith-Njigba, and a promising young defender in Emmanwori, the Seahawks have every reason to feel like they won this trade.
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