DK Metcalf Landing Spots: Best Trade Candidates For Fantasy Football

The news broke recently that current Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf was granted permission to seek a trade away from his team. There were rumors of his discontent earlier in the season, but given that he still played at a very high level before a knee injury disrupted his 2024 season, it was still somewhat of a surprise.

Perhaps Seattle is keeping its cards close and simply looking for a "too good to refuse" offer. But if the offer it wants to accept is of the "too good to be true" variety, the rumors currently swirling could be a waste of time to ponder.

Nonetheless, we don't know what will happen yet, so for now, we have to consider the possibility. Metcalf himself wants to be traded, and Seattle may believe it's in its best interests to let him walk. We'll break down some of the best landing spots for him for fantasy football.

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Los Angeles Chargers

If Metcalf gets traded to the Chargers, wheels up for him 100 percent. He'll join an offense that already has a great WR in Ladd McConkey. The two will present a duo with plenty of speed and a vast array of skills that will challenge opposing defensive backs mightily. The pair would complement each other very well.

In addition, quarterback Justin Herbert has one of the strongest arms in the league, and there would never be any issue delivering No. 14 missiles directly from his military-grade rocket launcher. Metcalf is still one of the fastest wideouts in the league despite weighing north of 220 pounds.

Just one of his many great plays. Where do you want to see DK Metcalf play next year?? ⤵️⤵️pic.twitter.com/lYxVSIb0lG

— Everything Ole Miss (@EverythingRebs) March 5, 2025

Metcalf will have the strongest-armed quarterback of his career, and one of the best deep-ball throwers in the NFL, at his disposal. The potential for multiple huge plays and long touchdowns will probably be at its highest. And he's just 27 years old, so he has at least a few more years in his prime left.

DK Metcalf:

6 rec, 123 yards, 20.5 YPC, 1 TD.

Drafted 64th overall, 7 picks after Arcega-Whiteside. pic.twitter.com/n0cQxTcVrs

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) November 4, 2019

The idea that McConkey would somehow cap Metcalf's ceiling is also a bit ridiculous because it's just completely not true. Herbert was able to support two great fantasy football pass-catcher options when he had WRs Keenan Allen and Mike Williams playing together just a few short years ago. Though we never got to see how full seasons for them would pan out, they were both in WR1 territory for a time.

This is probably the best landing spot for Metcalf in terms of quarterback fit. Though he probably wouldn't get some absurd number of targets, as he would on another team without other good wideouts or tight ends, it wouldn't matter too much.

New England Patriots

Speaking of a team with no current viable pass-catchers, the New England Patriots would provide Metcalf a home where he'd be forced the ball incessantly by quarterback Drake Maye. Maye didn't have a wildly consistent season in his rookie year, but that was largely because he had, inarguably, the worst pass-catching corps of any team in the NFL.

DeMario Douglas, Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Kayshon Boutte, and Kendrick Bourne coming off an ACL tear is a sufficiently poor group to make any fan of a team that featured them cry. New England somehow believing that it could get anywhere with them is comical. The results were very predictable -- the Pats offense was awful.

Every Drake Maye passing touchdown 🍿 pic.twitter.com/c8QIFyd22B

— Boston Cream 🍩 (@itsbostoncream) February 21, 2025

Yet Maye showed flashes of elite play and put together a very solid season. The offense was better with him under center, and he made a bunch of players that wouldn't even be WR3s on a lot of teams look somewhat serviceable. Metcalf would immediately become the focal point of the entire game plan, with Maye taking a ton of shots his way.

He would be a candidate for the most-targeted pass-catcher in the league and could lead the NFL in catches if he were to play a full season without major injuries. To date, he hasn't had a season with more than 90 catches and has only earned 130 or more targets once.

For fantasy football, one of the easiest ways to be a WR1 on the season is to be top five in targets, and that would be a reasonable possibility if Metcalf were to head to Foxborough.

Los Angeles Rams

It won't happen, but quarterback Matthew Stafford was still playing at a high level in 2024 and has at least one or two more years of excellent play left in him if he can stay healthy.

Even if he only has one more season of greatness, pairing Metcalf with WR Puka Nacua, in the absence of Cooper Kupp, would form a formidable duo of pass-catchers. No. 14 would bring a major speed element that L.A.'s WR room hasn't had.

👀DK Metcalf👀

Height: 6’ 3 and 3/8”
Weight: 228
Body Fat: 1.6%
Bench Press Reps: 27
40-Yard Dash: 4.33 Seconds

Have yourself a combine, DK Metcalf pic.twitter.com/G1pbD5OCIv

— BP Sports (@BPicksSports) March 2, 2019

Stafford still has an excellent arm, despite his age. And Rams head coach Sean McVay has authored some of the league's most explosive and most consistent offenses without ever having a WR with athleticism in the same stratosphere as Metcalf. Interestingly, we haven't yet seen the best of what the Super Bowl-winning coach can do.

This trade is unlikely to happen, as the team has other issues it needs to address. But if it wants to go all-in for one last time and have another shot at a title in Stafford's twilight, this would be one of the best ways to do it. The offensive line has issues, but those were mostly due to injury last season, and should it fare better health-wise, they'll be in solid shape.

The Rams do need to address the poor secondary play, as defense wins championships, but perhaps they could use their first-round pick on a defensive back or pick up a hidden gem in free agency. A highly talented receiver to replace the declining Kupp, who the team doesn't seem to want anymore, would probably be more impactful, anyway.

Las Vegas Raiders*

If the Raiders can find a good quarterback of the future (like soon-to-be rookie Jaxson Dart, my QB1 of this year's class) and decide to reunite Metcalf with his former coach, Pete Carroll, it would present another situation where he would have good QB play and would get a ton of work in the passing game. And he'd have another legitimate threat in tight end Brock Bowers.

It would present an interesting scenario for their offense. The size mismatches could be leveraged to great success. Bowers has the skill set of a WR in a tight end's body, is elite at creating separation in one-on-one matchups, and is a menace after the catch. He doesn't have the straight-line speed and acceleration that Metcalf has, though. Generally, offensive coordinators can create a lot of trouble for defenses when their pass-catching group's talents pooled together are highly diverse.

The #Raiders have a strong interest in #Seahawks DK Metcalf as they are looking for a number 1 WR pic.twitter.com/AMuTfzjXyw

— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) March 3, 2025

There are reasonable avenues for Las Vegas to acquire him, too. A second-round pick as compensation would present a tempting offer for Seattle, and the Raiders possess a very early pick in that round. Seattle would offload Metcalf's fat contract and get premium capital in return.

If the Raiders pick a bust in the draft, this won't be a great landing spot, though.

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