Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan said he was going to prioritize adding talent to the wide receiver room this offseason. Well, he certainly did that on Sunday when the Steelers traded their second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Seattle Seahawks for WR DK Metcalf.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora dove into Metcalf’s Seattle tape to see what the Steelers are getting. But just exactly who is Metcalf? Here are five things to know about the newest Steelers wide receiver.
A Family History Of NFL Players
DK Metcalf is not the first member of his family to make it to the NFL. His father, Terrence, was a third-round pick in 2002 by the Chicago Bears. He played seven NFL seasons and started 25 games along the offensive line, all with the Bears. He also was a standout offensive tackle at Ole Miss, the same college DK attended and was part of the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.
That’s a good amount of pedigree. And it doesn’t end there. There were rumors that DK’s father is the brother of former All-Pro RB/returner Eric Metcalf. That was debunked, but DK has said that his father and Eric are actually cousins. And Eric had quite the NFL career. He had 12 rushing touchdowns, 31 receiving touchdowns, 10 punt-return touchdowns, and two kick-return touchdowns over the course of his 17-year NFL career. He ran for 2,392 yards, had 5,572 receiving yards, had 3,453 punt-return yards, and returned kicks for 5,813 yards.
And Eric’s father was former St. Louis Cardinals/Washington RB Terry Metcalf. He played six NFL seasons and amassed 3,498 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground. He also had 2,457 yards receiving and caught nine touchdowns passes.
Family As Motivation
You could certainly argue that Metcalf had some pretty darn big shoes to fill as the latest football player to carry on the family legacy. But family motivates him in a different way. Metcalf sat down during his rookie season to talk with Q13 Fox in Seattle, and he talked about how family drives him forward in his football career.
“There’s one motivation I have playing this game, I’m just trying to take care of them,” Metcalf said. “Just be the best role model, be the best son, brother that I can be.”
During his rookie season with the Seahawks, Metcalf purchased his mom a brand-new SUV on a trip back to Mississippi.
“I’ve always just wanted to do it,” Metcalf said. “Just giving back to my mom any way I can. She’s been my rock. Anytime my mom can just hug me, just tell me that she’s proud of me, that’s every kid’s dream.”
NFL Dreams Nearly Ended Before They Began
Metcalf followed in his father’s footsteps and attended Ole Miss to play football. He only played in two games in 2016, catching two passes for 13 yards. But he did turn both catches into touchdowns. Then, he played in 12 games in 2017, catching 39 passes for 646 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 16.6 yards per catch.
In 2018, Metcalf got off to a hot start, catching 26 passes for 569 yards and five touchdowns through the first six games and part of the seventh. But he suffered a season-ending neck injury during the seventh game. And he thought it was going to end his playing days.
“Scared at first because I thought I wasn’t gonna be able to play football again,” Metcalf said during that rookie interview. “First doctor told me that it was over. And then we had to run some more tests. But just thankful to God that he gave me another opportunity.”
Announcing Mistake Leads To Partnership And Raising Money For Charity
Being a sports broadcaster looks like it’s a blast, but it requires a lot of work. You need to know the names of a lot of players, and sometimes mistakes happen. That’s exactly what happened to Joe Tessitore during Metcalf’s rookie season. He accidentally referred to Metcalf as “Decaf Metcalf” during a game broadcast. On its own, it’s a funny mistake and as harmless as broadcasting miscues go.
But it didn’t end there. Georgia-based Volcanica Coffee leaped at the opportunity, partnering with both Metcalf and Tessitore to launch a new line of decaffeinated coffee bearing the mistake-turned-nickname. Sure, it looks like a cash grab. But both Metcalf and Tessitore ensured that part of the proceeds would go to foundations of their choice.
Metcalf chose Prison Fellowship, an organization that is focused on serving “currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families” and advocating “for justice and human dignity both inside and outside of prison,” according to its website.
“The proceeds went to Prison Fellowship, an organization that I hold dear to my heart,” Metcalf said in an interview with GQ Sports. “Because I was young in college, and I was just sitting in church and never really thought about prisoners having a second chance at life or a second chance at finding Christ. And I just took it upon myself to partner with that organization when I later got into the NFL.”
You can still purchase Decaf Metcalf from Volcanica’s website, but the company might want to update the colors and description now that Metcalf is with the Steelers.
More Than Just A Football Player
Perhaps you’ve seen clips of Metcalf trash-talking defenders, not with his mouth but his hands. That led many to assume that he learned American Sign Language just to take his trash-talking to another level (and avoid penalties).
“No, I wouldn’t go that far just to smack talk,” said Metcalf in that GQ Sports interview. “But I did learn sign language because I try to do something every football season to not just feel like I’m a football player. So, in the past, I took acting lessons during the football season. So, right now, I’ve transitioned to ASL.”
We’ve heard stories of players retiring and struggling to transition to non-football life. Sometimes, their identities get fully wrapped up in football. This sounds like Metcalf is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
And it just so happens that learning ASL has given him the opportunity to talk some more trash in one of the most unique ways we’ve seen on the football field.
