Getty The Falcons offer three draft picks for a Pro Bowl WR in this trade scenario.
Landing a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver would transform the weakest position group on the Atlanta Falcons’ roster. The offense is shorn of an elite pass-catcher after last season’s leading wideout defected to an NFC South rival in free agency, while the Falcons’ most talented receiver is set to serve a suspension.
General manager Terry Fontenot has tried for a quick fix by offering short-term deals to three stop-gap free agents. Yet, none of the newcomers will scare defenses in 2022.
There are options within a deep draft class, but the Falcons would get more of a sure thing by trading for a proven commodity. A receiver who was a Pro Bowler in 2020 and may or may not be on the trade block.
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One Falcons beat writer has mapped out a trade scenario where Fontenot would deal away three of this year’s draft picks to get the marquee outside threat Atlanta’s offense needs.
Low-Key Trade Scenario Doesn’t Involve Falcons’ First-Rounder
As part of a panel of ESPN writers asked to put together trade packages their respective teams might offer for DK Metcalf, Michael Rothstein devised a safe deal for the Falcons.
Rothstein laid out an offer that still preserved the Falcons’ eighth-overall pick, but sent three extra choices to the Seattle Seahawks: “The Falcons would trade 2022 second- and fifth-round picks (Nos. 58 and 151), along with a 2023 fourth-round pick.”
Keeping that prime selection in the top-10 would allow the Falcons to still add “another premier starter,” according to Rothstein. It’s dream scenario stuff because acquiring Metcalf and drafting Garrett Wilson or Drake London would instantly give the Falcons a corps of pass-catchers other teams would envy.
Frankly, flipping three picks outside the first round for a playmaker as dynamic as Metcalf would be a bargain. The 24-year-old can take the top off a defense directly, or unleash his 6’4″, 235-pound frame after collecting passes underneath.
Metcalf has used those skills to post numbers that put him alongside some of the all-time greats at his position, per NFL on CBS:
D.K. Metcalf’s first 3 NFL seasons:
▪️3,170 Receiving Yards
▪️29 Receiving TD
The only other players to hit these numbers in their first 3 seasons over the last 40 years:
▫️Jerry Rice
▫️Randy Moss
▫️A.J. Green
▫️Odell Beckham
Rothstein described Metcalf as “the type of fast, big-bodied receiver that coach Arthur Smith likes.” There’s an obvious comparison here with A.J. Brown, the ultra-physical wideout who became a star on Smith’s watch when the latter was offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.
Landing Metcalf would make it easier for Smith to call the kind of scheme he likes when Marcus Mariota is throwing the passes. That’s the theory, but it might be pie in the sky. For one thing, Metcalf may not even be available.
A First-Rounder Would Surely be Needed
Are the Seahawks willing to do a deal for Metcalf? That’s the question, and nobody seems to know the answer.
A report from 94WIP host Howard Eskin, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, said the Seahawks answered no dice when the New York Jets offered the 10th pick in this draft. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler appeared on SportsCenter and said the Seahawks would do a deal “at the right price,” in footage shared by reporter Dov Kleiman:
#Seahakws star WR DK Metcalf can be had at “the right price” despite the team saying he’s not available, league executives tell @JFowlerESPN
The “right price” would surely involve at least one first-round pick. That’s the view of Fowler and Rothstein’s ESPN colleague Brady Henderson: “Based on my reporting, I’d guess that they would view something in the neighborhood of two firsts as the minimum for Metcalf.”
It’s a hefty haul and surely too rich for the Falcons’ blood, even allowing for their glaring need for reinforcements at receiver. The need is compounded by Calvin Ridley missing at least the ’22 season serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
Ridley walked away from football after five games last season to look after his mental wellbeing. In his absence, Russell Gage took the reins for Atlanta’s receiver corps and caught 66 passes for 770 yards and four touchdowns.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, those numbers helped Gage secure a deal to play for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fontenot has tried to restock the cabinet since, but the new arrivals hardly inspire confidence.
Auden Tate signed a one-year deal after amassing just 799 receiving yards during four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Damiere Byrd played with four teams, including the Chicago Bears, before agreeing terms with the Falcons. KhaDarel Hodge was mostly a special-teamer before swapping the Detroit Lions for a year in Atlanta.
It’s not an awe-inspiring group, even when put alongside incumbents Olamide Zaccheaus and Frank Darby. The Falcons need to add a stud wide receiver this offseason, but it likely won’t be Metcalf, unless Fontenot is willing to part company with at least one first-round selection.