Coming off back-to-back 4-13 seasons, the New England Patriots — who less than a decade ago ended the most dominant 20-year run the NFL has ever seen — have serious needs to fill at almost every position. With 2024 third-overall draft pick Drake Maye at quarterback and 2023 17th-overall pick Christian Gonzalez at the No. 1 cornerback position, those two roles seem taken care of.
But almost nothing else is. Even the kicker spot is open with 2024’s Joey Slye and his 78.8 percent field goal conversion rate hitting free agency.
Arguably, however, no open job on the Patriots is more important than the primary wide receiver’s slot. Known in the NFL as the “X receiver,” or alternatively the “split end,” every team is generally considered to require one wideout who positions himself on the line of scrimmage and takes responsibility as the primary deep threat, that is, the receiver who will be most often targeted by the quarterback for explosive and long-yardage plays.
‘Help Wanted’ Sign Hangs Over Patriots X Receiver Spot
On the Patriots, the job of X receiver is vacant. The Patriots have shuffled through a number of candidates over the past several years. In the 2019 draft they thought they had their man in Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry. But after three frustrating seasons in New England, Harry was last seen being waived from the Seattle Seahawks practice squad on December 3.
In drafting Harry with their first-round pick, 32nd overall, the Patriots that year passed over three other receivers who went on to make valuable contributions to their teams — the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles, and finally, the 64th overall pick in 2019, the Seattle Seahawks’ DeKaylin “D.K.” Metcalf.
Now, in a new trade proposal set forth by veteran Patriots beat writer Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald newspaper, New England would get a chance to belatedly fix their first-round mistake. What if instead of Harry, the Patriots had drafted Metcalf, a 6’4″, 235-pound wideout out of Ole Miss?
In Kyed’s trade proposal, the Patriots would find out. With the Seahawks, Metcalf has filled the X receiver role since his rookie year. In his sophomore season he caught 1,303 yards worth of passes, his career high, also topping 1,000 yards in 2022 and 2023. But in 2024, as Last Word on Sports managing editor David Latham noted, the Seahawks’ 2023 first rounder (20th overall) Jaxon Smith-Njigba “outproduced the veteran down the stretch, and his emergence combined with Metcalf’s impending extension makes the wide receiver expendable.”
Seattle Must Shed Metcalf’s Salary to Have Hope of Rebuild
That contract extension Metcalf would need to keep him out of free agency is the main reason Seattle may be looking to deal Metcalf. The 27-year-old is already owed $18 million next season and an extension would restrict the already cap-crippled Seahawks further in terms of rebuilding their roster. Seattle has missed the playoffs in three of the last four seasons, and has won only three playoff games, all in the Wild Card round, since their crushing Super Bowl loss to the Patriots in the 2014 season.
The team’s cap situation is dire. Currently, they sit $27,522,016 over the cap, meaning they need to shed payroll before the season gets underway. Dropping $18 million in the form of Metcalf would obviously be a big help.
“Metcalf would fill a major need for the Patriots at the ‘X’ receiver position and immediate become their best pass-catcher,” Kyed wrote. “He has an affordable salary of just $18 million but would likely want an extension to come with any type of trade.”
The Patriots could handle granting Metcalf an extension, as they now lead the league in cap space with more than $120 million available. And according to Kyed, the Patriots would not need to give up anything significant in trade for Metcalf because they would be doing the Seahwaks a favor by taking that $18 million off their payroll.
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Seahawks $18 Million Wideout to Patriots, Fills Empty X Receiver Job: Trade Idea