HEIGHT: 6-3
WEIGHT: 228
COLLEGE: Ole Miss
CLASS: Redshirt Sophomore
2018 STATS: 26 rec, 569 yards, 21.9 YPR, 5 TD (7 games)
CAREER STATS: 67 rec, 1,228 yards, 18.3 YPR, 14 TD (21 games)
GAMES WATCHED (6): LSU, Texas Tech, Alabama, UL-Monroe (2018); Kentucky, Arkansas (2017)
| 40 | BENCH | VERT | BROAD | 3 CONE | 20S | 60S |
| 4.33 | 27 | 40.5″ | 134″ | 7.38 | 4.5 |
SIZE/PHYSICAL TRAITS (5/5)
- Tremendous size and length
- Massive catch radius
SPEED/BURST (10/10)
- Easy acceleration and excellent top-end speed
- Serious deep threat thanks to size and speed
AGILITY (7/10)
- Not super quick moving laterally due to size
ROUTE RUNNING/SEPARATION (16/20)
- Limited route tree — curls, slants, screens, flys, drags
- Quick and refined route releases — gets off the line with urgency
- Patterns and route stems lack nuance — could incorporate more hesitation moves/fakes to keep defenders guessing; rounds off some routes rather than breaking them off sharply
- Uses body well to shield defenders from the ball
- Typically separates well out of route releases
- Could be more consistent at creating separation down the field on the occasions where he doesn’t gain a step early in the route
RUN AFTER CATCH (10/10)
- Open-field speed and acceleration allow him to rack up huge chunk gains after the catch
- Shows some open-field elusiveness
- Good strength and contact balance to power through would-be tacklers
HANDS/BALL SKILLS (14/20)
- Has spectacular catch ability, but catch consistency is lacking
- Too many drops when working back to the ball
- High win percentage in contested catch situations; high points the football well
- Generally catches the ball away from his frame, but occasionally he’ll allow the football into his body
BODY CONTROL (9/10)
- Easily adjusts to off-target passes
- Has shown an ability to contort body and get feet down in bounds when working the sideline
BEAT PRESS (10/10)
- Defeats press coverage easily with refined footwork and skilled hand fighting
FEEL (4/5)
- Tracks the ball well downfield
- Does a good job of working back to the quarterback on broken plays
- Could have better awareness around the sideline
RED FLAGS
- Has two season-ending injuries in the medical history (missed final six games of 2018 with a neck injury; broke his foot in the second game of the 2016 season and missed remainder of the year)
OVERALL GRADE: 85.00/100.00 — 1ST ROUND — Rookie starter; top-15 player at position/Pro Bowl potential
NFL COMPARISON: Josh Gordon
SCHEME FIT: X Receiver
DRAFT PROJECTION: Top-10 pick
“D.K. Metcalf is a prototypical X receiver. He needs refinement with his route stems and overall pattern crafting to reach his ceiling, but his size and athleticism oftentimes allow him to separate on physical ability alone. He is a RAC monster with a rare blend of speed, strength and elusiveness in the open field. Metcalf’s injury history is the biggest cause for concern, as he suffered two major injuries over the course of his three-year career at Ole Miss. Metcalf has an elite ceiling if he can stay healthy, refine his route running and improve his catch-point consistency.” — Dan Wussow”
