There was a buzz at this year's NFL Combine, and much of it surrounded Ole Miss wide receiver DK Metcalf. The buzz originally generated ahead of the Combine when a photo of Metcalf surfaced on Twitter.
To put it mildly, Metcalf is in tremendous shape, and he blew people away when he let it be known that he possesses just 1.6% body fat.
That is an absurd physique for anyone, and it has some questioning that he may be too muscular to play the wide receiver position.
Those with concerns of his agility partially had those concerns confirmed with Metcalf's poor scores in the 20-yard shuttle and 3 cone drill. Others believe that those drills are overanalyzed in terms of what a player can do on the field.
How his agility impacts his game at the NFL level remains to be seen, but Metcalf did impress in, arguably, the most popular drill at the Combine. Metcalf ran a phenomenal 4.33 in the 40-yard dash when many believed that he would run somewhere in the 4.5 range.
For a player of his size to showcase that type of speed, it's no wonder he's the hottest topic coming out of this class not named Kyler Murray.
With his Combine performance, Metcalf has solidified himself as a first-round selection, and most likely the first wide receiver taken off the board. Where will he land though? Could he go top 10 or will he fall in the latter half of the first round?
Let's take a look at which teams could be all-in on Metcalf, and make him their first-round selection.
5. Buffalo Bills
If you got a full eight hours of sleep on Thursday night, you probably missed Antonio Brown's entire career in Buffalo.
With both teams reportedly agreeing on a trade, Brown let it be known that he was not interested in going to Buffalo, and took to social media to call the report “fake news”.
With Brown now confirmed to be heading to Oakland, the Bills are still in the market for a #1 wide receiver. With the No. 9 overall pick, they appear to be in the driver's seat to land Metcalf if they so choose. The Bills are probably Metcalf's best opportunity at becoming a top 10 selection.
There would sure be some growing pains with Josh Allen at quarterback, but the Bills know that they need to get their young quarterback some players to throw to.
Who better than a 6'3″, 228 lb., freakish athlete with blazing speed?
4. Green Bay Packers
The Packers have more glaring needs than wide receiver, but it will be a priority heading into this offseason.
They could find one through free agency, but outside of Golden Tate and John Brown, there are not a lot of quality options.
Should they miss out on either player, they are likely to turn their attention to the draft and use an early selection on a wide receiver. Since releasing Jordy Nelson last offseason, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have been searching for another wideout to complement Davante Adams.
Although there are a number of quality receivers in this draft, Green Bay may be under the impression that Metcalf is simply too good to pass up if he happens to slip to them at pick 12.
The Packers have two first round picks this year, but Metcalf is unlikely to be available when it comes back around to them at pick 30.
While an edge rusher at pick 12 would be more beneficial to the Packers, they could elect to go ahead and use it to get Rodgers some help.
3. Washington Redskins
While Washington would love for one of the top 3 quarterbacks to fall to them at pick 15, it's highly unlikely.
They could still use the pick to reach on one like Daniel Jones, for example, but it makes more sense to use it on a skilled player.
The Redskins just traded for Case Keenum as a bridge quarterback. While there is nothing glamorous about Keenum, he's not a bad stopgap player, and Washington can simply take a quarterback later in the draft to develop throughout the season or wait until next year.
What they do need right now, however, are wide receivers. Jamison Crowder is hitting free agency, and so are Maurice Harris and Michael Floyd. The only guaranteed receivers on the roster for next season at the moment are Paul Richardson and Josh Doctson.
When that's all you have, the Redskins could really use the talent level of Metcalf.
2. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts own the 26th pick in the draft, and if you are to believe a wide variety of mock drafts then you'll know it looks like they will take a wide receiver with their first selection.
It makes sense for a team that looks to compete for a Super Bowl run in 2019 after reaching the divisional round last season.
Indianapolis has solely relied on T.Y. Hilton for too long, and it's time for them to find someone else that Andrew Luck can throw the ball to. While Dontrelle Inman did a fine job in the final weeks of the season, he is not a long-term answer for the Colts.
It's hard to see Metcalf falling all the way to 26th, but if he does, then the Colts could strongly consider taking him.
That would only add to an already dangerous offense.
1. Oakland Raiders
Let's not assume that just because the Raiders finalized a trade to land Antonio Brown that they are automatically out of the market for another wide receiver.
The truth is, no one knows what the Raiders are planning to do, and that's all in part because of Jon Gruden.
With three first round picks, Oakland could go in a number of ways here. Prior to the Brown trade, it was believed that the Raiders would use one of their late first round picks (24th and 27th overall) to take a receiver after departing with Amari Cooper midseason.
Only having to depart with a third and fifth round pick this season for Brown, Oakland still maintains all of their first round picks, and could still go in that direction. Outside of Brown, and an aging Jordy Nelson, Derek Carr doesn't have a ton of options in the offense.
Drafting Metcalf could make for a dangerous combination, and one that could grow to be even more productive than what Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster had in Pittsburgh.
Of course, that all depends on the play of the quarterback, and Carr is nowhere near the level of Ben Roethlisberger. There's no guarantee that Carr will be the quarterback either as there is a belief that Gruden will attempt in some way to get Kyler Murray, who he is clearly in love with.
With the expectation that the Raiders may offer a contract to Le'Veon Bell within the next few days as well, Gruden may be looking to create the most dynamic offense in the league. While that does nothing to help their defense, which is where their struggles truly are, Gruden may not view that as high a priority as everyone else.
If he had Brown and Metcalf as his wide receivers, it would be hard to argue against it.
Follow Us
Subscribe