Grading four potential draft day Atlanta Falcons trades

Scenario #4: Trade for Seahawks WR DK Metcalf

And now, we reach the other unlikely scenario in terms of trading a for a “disgruntled” receiver for nothing more than draft picks in a one-year rental. DK Metcalf was selected with the final pick in the same draft that AJ Brown was selected, and we all remember that first game against the Falcons in Dan Quinn’s final year. For reference, that was AJ Terrell’s “welcome to the big leagues, rook” moment where Metcalf ate him for breakfast and also had a great fourth-down touchdown catch up the left side of the field on Isaiah Oliver (first glance that maybe moving him inside to the slot was a smart decision later on).

So why would the Falcons opt out on Brown but go for Metcalf, who’d be leaving a rebuilding team in the Seahawks to come to another rebuilding team with a ferocious bird mascot?

Well, for starters, Metcalf is an absolute freak of nature. Standing at 6-foot-3, he immediately becomes a huge presence outside the numbers for Marcus Mariota. Furthermore, running a 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds is highly impressive, demonstrating elite speed in this league. While he still struggles with consistency, when Metcalf is on fire, it does resemble Julio to an extent in the sense that he commands a double team, thus opening up lanes for his fellow receivers (even if they are massively inferior compared to him).

This trade is almost similar to the trade for AJ Brown, except Rhim removes the 190th overall selection, which honestly doesn’t do much except guarantee another “camp body” for the Falcons. However, much like the Brown trade, not only does it potentially eliminate the Falcons from selecting a receiver eighth overall (which they shouldn’t anyway), but they might have to pay up for Metcalf as well.

In his case, it’s a little more likely that Metcalf could consider a long-term extension with the Falcons if he believes in the potential upside the team sells his representation on. However, it’s still a low probability, even for a guy that was compared to Julio, Josh Gordon, and Terrell Owens coming out of college.

Verdict: Falcons slight success in trade, chances of success: 20-25%