The Seattle Seahawks No. 1 wide receiver D.K. Metcalf is excited about the team’s future and on Friday, April 14, joined The Herd with Colin Cowherd to discuss his thoughts about the franchise.
After Herd gushed over how Metcalf is “so committed and so focused,” the 26-year-old has never missed an NFL game in his four-year career, Jason McIntyre swerves the conversation to ask, “Can I slide in a Jets question?”
Herd quickly hops in to explain, “He’s a Jets fan,” to which Metcalf responds in a slow, deep tone, “Why?”
“Because I was born in New York,” McIntyre says. “That’s a question my kids ask me a lot.” Metcalf responds, “A lot of people are Giants fans in New York, though,” to which Herd adds, “That’s the team that wins.”
J-Mac: “How much of a difference will Aaron Rodgers make on the Jets?”
DK: “My name is DK Metcalf and I focus on the Seattle Seahawks.” 😂
McIntyre attempts to pick Metcalf’s brain about the seemingly imminent trade landing Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the Jets. “How much of a difference do you think Aaron Rodgers will make… you’ve seen him a lot, you think he can get the Jets to the playoffs?”
However, the Pro Bowler makes it clear that he’s not on the show to discuss Rodgers or the struggling AFC East franchise. He says, “I mean, my name is DK Metcalf and I focus on the Seattle Seahawks,” an answer which caused J-Mac to burst out laughing and earned applause from Herd.
Viewers on Twitter strongly reacted to Metcalf’s retort. A Seahawks fan tweeted, “Perfect answer😭😭,” while a Dolphins fan wrote, “DK throwing shade at the Jets for no reason at all 🤣.”
Metcalf Gets Honest About Geno Smith’s Rise From Backup QB to Team Leader
“I saw the transition from ‘I’m a backup’ to ‘this is my team.'”
@dkm14 on Geno Smith claiming the QB position in Seattle:
In a different segment of the interview, Metcalf exuded his confidence in quarterback Geno Smith, who took over the starting role after Russell Wilson’s blockbuster trade to the Denver Broncos last season. The receiver says the 32-year-old veteran, who helped lead the team to an unexpected 9-8 record and a spot in the Wild Card playoff round, had a major shift in both physically and mentally.
“I believe sitting behind Russ really like motivated him and really showed him how good he could really be in this league cause even at practice, he’s yelling at the practice squad guys to run their routes right. He’s like, ‘This is my opportunity too.’ And I’m like, ‘Ok I respect that because you understand what’s at stake,'” Metcalf said.
“The year we traded Russ and he’s the starter, he comes into training camp and he’s locked in, like body wise, mentally, watching the film. I saw the transition from ‘Ok, I’m a backup’ to ‘Ok, this is my team, I’m a starter.'”
Metcalf says Smith worked hard to earn the respect of his teammates. “Like Week 8, he won the locker room over and he was giving pre-game speeches and people were listening to him, and buying into Geno Smith. I mean, I believed in him from the start, but just to see the transition from people like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s immature,’ and writing him off to, ‘Ok that’s my leader, that’s my quarterback. It was amazing to see.'”
During the 2022 NFL season, Smith’s ninth and statistically best year in the league, he threw for 4,282 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, along with 366 rushing yards and one rushing score.
Metcalf Still Thinks About His ‘Tough’ Draft Night
With the 2023 NFL Draft less than two weeks away, Herd asked Metcalf about his experience back in 2019, when the Seahawks selected him in the second round (No. 64 overall). Metcalf admits that he was ticked off for getting passed over during the first round, especially because he attended the opening ceremony in person. “That night was tough for me,” he said. “I carry that still to this day. I still think about it.”
However, Metcalf is grateful for how things panned out, landing with Seahawks head coach Pete Caroll. “He lets me be me, he lets me be DK Metcalf on Sundays. He’s just the perfect mix and the perfect match for me in the draft.”
The Ole Miss alum admitted that living in Seattle was a “culture shock” at first for the Mississippi-born and bred kid, but grew to fall in love with the city and the people in it. Better yet, the love is mutual. Metcalf signed a record-breaking three-year, $72 million contract extension with the Seahawks last year. He went on to record 90 receptions for 1,048 yards and six touchdowns during the 2022 NFL season.
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Seahawks Star WR Hilariously Rips New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers