DK Metcalf Trade Rumors: Seahawks Want 1st-Round, 3rd-Round NFL Draft Picks for WR

The Seattle Seahawks are reportedly setting quite the starting asking price for wide receiver DK Metcalf.

Dianna Russini, Michael Shawn-Dugar and Chris Licata of The Athletic reported Thursday that Metcalf requested a trade and the Seahawks want a first-round pick and third-round pick in return. The report also said Metcalf wants a new contract from whichever team trades for him that would be worth approximately $30 million per year.

Seattle may have to settle for less draft compensation than that, considering potential suitors might also have to make a significant financial commitment to the wide receiver since the 2025 season is the final year of his contract.

Shawn-Dugar explained "any deal that doesn't include at least a second-round pick is a non-starter for Seattle."

Shawn-Dugar also noted there have not been any trade talks between the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers despite reports suggesting otherwise. He did list the Packers as a logical destination given their lack of a No. 1 wideout and the torn ACL that will sideline Christian Watson for some of the 2025 campaign, but nothing has developed as of Thursday.

The contract situation is the biggest variable in any discussions, as teams surely won't want to give up first- and third-round draft picks for someone who will be just a rental player. And they also won't want to give up that much on top of a significant new deal that will eat into the salary cap.

There was no shortage of headline wide receiver trades during the 2024 season, some of which suggest the Seahawks likely won't get their initial asking price.

DeAndre Hopkins went to the Kansas City Chiefs for a conditional fifth-round pick, Davante Adams went to the New York Jets for a conditional third-round pick, and Amari Cooper and a sixth-round pick went to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick and a seventh-round pick.

There is a difference between trading for a wide receiver in the middle of the season as opposed to the offseason when teams know they will have him for the entire upcoming campaign, but Hopkins, Adams and Cooper are all marquee names who went for nowhere close to what Seattle wants for Metcalf.

At his best, Metcalf is a game-changing wide receiver who can use his combination of speed and physicality to overpower defenders, high-point jump balls and dominate in the red zone.

He is a two-time Pro Bowler with three seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards and two seasons of double-digit touchdown catches on his resume. None of those marks came in 2024 when he posted 66 catches for 992 yards and five touchdowns while taking something of a backseat to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but he was still effective.

How effective other teams believe he can be moving forward will ultimately decide how much Seattle gets in return.