Everyone remembers the photo. You know the one—the viral shot of DK Metcalf looking like a literal action figure before the draft. Muscles on muscles, almost zero body fat, and a physical frame that made every other human in the room look like they skipped gym class for a decade. But if you're asking when did dk metcalf get drafted, you might be surprised to find out that despite that legendary physique, he wasn't exactly a top-ten lock. In fact, he sat there waiting for a long, long time.
He actually waited until the very end of the second round.
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The Specifics of the 2019 NFL Draft
DK Metcalf was drafted on April 26, 2019. It was a Friday night. While the big names like Kyler Murray and Nick Bosa flew off the board on Thursday during the first round, Metcalf was still sitting in the green room. He didn't hear his name called until the Seattle Seahawks traded up to grab him with the 64th overall pick.
64th.
That made him the final pick of the second round. For a guy who had just broken the internet with his combine numbers, it felt like a glitch in the matrix. Honestly, the draft is weird like that sometimes. A guy can look like a Hall of Famer in shorts, but NFL GMs get spooked by the smallest red flags. For Metcalf, those flags were real, even if they look silly now.
Why Did He Fall So Far?
It’s easy to look back now and call every team that passed on him "stupid." But at the time, there was a legitimate debate about whether he could actually play football at the professional level. He wasn't just a physical specimen; he was a question mark.
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- The Injury History: This was the big one. At Ole Miss, he suffered a season-ending foot injury in 2016. Then, in 2018, a cervical neck fracture ended his season after just seven games. You hear "neck fracture" and you think "career-over." NFL teams are naturally terrified of investing millions into a player whose career could end with one bad hit.
- The Three-Cone Drill: This became a meme. Metcalf ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, which is basically light speed for someone who weighs 229 pounds. But his 3-cone drill? It was 7.38 seconds. To put that in perspective, that’s slower than some offensive linemen. It suggested he couldn't turn corners—that he was a "straight-line" runner who couldn't run a full NFL route tree.
- Lack of College Production: He never actually had a 1,000-yard season at Ole Miss. His best year was 646 yards. When you're picking in the first round, you usually want to see a guy who dominated his peers, not just someone who looked good in a gym.
The Eight Receivers Taken Before Him
People love to bring this up. Before the Seahawks took DK Metcalf at pick 64, eight other wide receivers were already off the board. Some of these guys turned into stars, while others... well, not so much.
- Marquise "Hollywood" Brown (Ravens, 25th overall)
- N'Keal Harry (Patriots, 32nd overall)
- Deebo Samuel (49ers, 36th overall)
- A.J. Brown (Titans, 51st overall)
- Mecole Hardman (Chiefs, 56th overall)
- J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (Eagles, 57th overall)
- Parris Campbell (Colts, 59th overall)
- Andy Isabella (Cardinals, 62nd overall)
Seeing names like Andy Isabella and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside go ahead of a future All-Pro is the kind of stuff that keeps scouts up at night. But back in April 2019, those teams thought they were getting "safer" players with better lateral quickness. Seattle took the gamble on the "freak," and it paid off almost immediately.
A New Chapter in Pittsburgh
If you've been following the news lately, you know the Seahawks era finally ended. In early 2025, the Seahawks traded Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a massive move—Seattle got a second-round pick (No. 52) in return, while Pittsburgh got the veteran weapon they desperately needed.
Watching him in a Steelers uniform feels a bit surreal after six seasons in the Pacific Northwest, but his production hasn't really slowed down. Even as he approaches his late 20s, he’s still that same physical nightmare for cornerbacks that he was on draft night.
What We Learned From the 2019 Draft
Metcalf’s slide to the end of the second round is a classic lesson in over-scouting. Teams got so caught up in his "agility" numbers and his medical reports that they forgot he was a 6'4" giant who could outrun everyone on the field.
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If you're a fan looking to understand his career trajectory, the "64th pick" is more than just a number—it’s the chip on his shoulder. He’s gone on record saying he keeps a photo from that draft night on his phone. It’s a reminder of the 31 teams that looked at him and said, "No thanks."
Practical Insights for Fans and Analysts:
- Draft position isn't destiny: Being a second-rounder often lands players in better situations. Metcalf joined a Seahawks team with Russell Wilson in his prime, which is a much better landing spot than a struggling team picking in the top five.
- The "Combine Warrior" stigma is tricky: Usually, guys who "win" the combine but lack college production fail. Metcalf is the rare exception who proved that elite traits can be refined into elite skills.
- Monitor the Steelers fit: As of 2026, Metcalf is a key piece of the Pittsburgh offense. If you're playing fantasy football or following betting lines, his usage in a more traditional AFC North offense is the metric to watch compared to his "deep threat" days in Seattle.
To wrap it up, DK Metcalf was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 64th overall. It was the moment that changed the Seahawks' franchise for half a decade and set the stage for one of the most physically dominant careers in modern football history.
Keep an eye on his targets in the red zone this season; with his size and the Steelers' offensive scheme, he's likely to continue punishing those teams that passed on him all those years ago.