ESPN’s Adam Schefter must have been having a slow day this past weekend. He was likely looking for ideas and thought he stumbled on one about Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf and San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel and Schefter posted the article. He timed it perfectly with when Seattle and San Francisco were playing on Sunday in Seattle’s Week 11 victory.
The problem is the piece is a lot of, “Who really cares?” The premise is this. During the 2019 NFL draft, Seattle thought they had a trade in place with the then-Oakland Raiders so that the Seahawks could move up from selection 37 to 35 with the idea of choosing Samuel. Seattle still wanted Metcalf but assumed they could draft him later in the second round (which, of course, they did).
The issue is that the Raiders backed out of the trade at the last minute and instead made a move with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the 49ers took Samuel at pick 36. Schefter seemingly thinks that five years later a trade that did not happen is still interesting. Sure, the idea of Samuel playing with Metcalf is a fun one, but is it worth an article? Not really.
In fact, the more interesting aspect might be why the Raiders disrespected the Seahawks so much that they took a far worse trade. The Jaguars gave up their number 38 pick and a fourth-round pick but got the 35th selection back from the Raiders as well as fifth-round and seventh-round picks. Maybe Oakland just still hated Seattle remembering all the great battles the two teams had when both were in the AFC West.
Another angle might have been that Seattle did not need to take two receivers in the second round, even though Samuel and Metcalf have both been quite good in their careers. Samuel is a perfect fit in the 49ers offense and would not have melded as well with Seattle’s scheme. In other words, Samuel might not have had the career he has had should Seattle have drafted him.
Sure, Samuel and Metcalf playing together would have been interesting, but putting an article out five years later when the scenario had the chance of occurring is a reach. Plus, Seattle already had Tyler Lockett so wide receiver was not a grave concern. The Seahawks simply blew the rest of their picks besides getting a win with DK Metcalf.
