Seahawks' DK Metcalf Talks Super Bowl Goals, Geno Smith and More in B/R Interview

DK Metcalf would be perfectly fine with two yards during the entire 2023 season.

As long as those two yards come with some jewelry.

"Win a Super Bowl," the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver told Bleacher Report when discussing what would make a successful campaign. "Everything else will fall in line for itself. Take away all the personal accolades and personal goals. If we win a Super Bowl, I'll be happy if I get two yards and no touchdowns.

"It's all about legacy with me. To have a great one, you need a ring."

Don't worry, fantasy football players. It's virtually impossible to envision the Seahawks winning a championship if their top playmaker has just two yards.

After all, he has more than lived up to the expectations that were placed on his shoulders as a second-round pick in 2019. Metcalf has never finished with fewer than 900 yards in a season, was a Pro Bowler in his second year, posted a career-best 12 touchdowns in his third and still thrived last season in his fourth despite playing with a quarterback besides Russell Wilson for the first time.

He finished the 2022 season with 90 catches for 1,048 yards and six touchdowns with a physical style of play that allows him to come down with contested catches and overpower cornerbacks in single coverage all while possessing enough breakaway speed to compete in the USA Track and Field Golden Games.

The one thing missing at this point is that championship, although the Seahawks came closer than expected last year as a playoff team after trading Wilson.

They were largely projected to struggle in a difficult NFC West but instead defeated Wilson's Denver Broncos in Week 1, won four straight games in the middle of the season to move to 6-3 and ended up making the postseason, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round.

"If anything, it just motivates us more," Metcalf said of the doubt. "People counted us out last year, and I still feel like people are counting us out this year. We're in the Pacific Northwest and away from everybody, people don't get to see what we do or see what we're about. Just going in during training camp and setting the tone from day one for what type of team we're going to be this year."

There will still be skeptics, but expectations are higher in 2023 after quarterback Geno Smith was one of the biggest surprises in the league last season.

Smith was a second-round pick of the New York Jets in 2013 but struggled with consistency in the Big Apple. He lost his starting job, bounced around to the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers, and eventually found himself as Wilson's backup in Seattle in 2020 and 2021.

Even the most optimistic of projections couldn't have foreseen what happened when he was finally given the starting reins for the Seahawks.

Smith was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and made his first Pro Bowl while completing a league-best 69.8 percent of his passes for 4,282 yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Seattle rewarded him with a three-year, $75 million contract this offseason as a result.

"When he got that contract, I know it was just a big blessing for him and his family," Metcalf said. "Continued congratulations for him. He worked hard for it, he earned it."

Metcalf also pointed out that the continuity in place should help Smith be even more productive in 2023. He is more familiar with what it takes to be the starter, has more experience throwing to Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and will be motivated to bounce back from last season's playoff loss.

"We're just going to pick up the pieces where we left off last year," the No. 1 wide receiver said. "We got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last year, but I know a lot of teams expected us to not even make the playoffs.

"… It's going to be a fun year. I'm excited to report in the next two weeks, just to see what the team does and have everybody healthy and competing in training camp. I think it's going to be a fun year all around. We're going to try to be a brotherhood of guys who are playing hard for each other on Sunday."

That type of camaraderie extends beyond his teammates, as Metcalf was on hand at the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards celebration alongside Jayson Tatum, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Sam Mewis, Nneka Ogwumike and April Ross to help recognize the next generation of excellent athletes.

The Seahawks playmaker was there as one of Gatorade's roster athletes and role models to that next generation as University of Florida softball commit Ava Brown and MLB first-round pick Max Clark were named the 2023 Gatorade Best Female and Male Players of the Year in Los Angeles.

Photo Credit: Gatorade

"They haven't really asked me for advice yet, and I think that's a good thing," he said. "They're paving their own way. They're here for a reason. They're some of the greatest athletes in the country, playing their respective sports. I'm just excited to be here with them along their journey, they're the next generation of athletes who are going to be playing in the NFL or the NBA or running in the Olympics. I'm just excited to see them and their journey."

Metcalf has the opportunity to be a role model for more than just the top young athletes Gatorade honored.

Seattle used the No. 20 overall pick of the NFL draft on Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, which should boost an already impressive aerial attack.

While Smith-Njigba dealt with a hamstring injury that limited him to just three games last season and forced him to sit out of the College Football Playoff, it wasn't long ago he was arguably the top pass-catcher on a Buckeyes team that also featured NFL notables Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.

He posted 95 catches for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021 and capped off the year with an incredible 15 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns in a Rose Bowl win over Utah.

"He's already made an impact, and we've only practiced a couple days with him," Metcalf said of his new teammate in the wide receiver room. "I'm just excited to see what he does this year. He's just a great dude all around, take the football aspects out of it. Just hanging out with him outside the facility and just being around him, he's just a good dude and I'm excited to see what he does.

"I hope he comes in and breaks every rookie record there is. I'm trying to help him do it, it's going to be exciting."

If Metcalf helps Smith-Njigba reach his full potential, facing the Seahawks will be a nightmare situation for opposing defenses. Somebody out of the Metcalf, Smith-Njigba and Lockett group will be facing single coverage on every play, and the front seven still has to account for running back Kenneth Walker III after his breakout rookie effort.

Suddenly those Super Bowl dreams don't seem that far-fetched for the fifth-year wide receiver.