Philadelphia Eagles missed out big time passing on D.K. Metcalf

Looking back at the 2019 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles clearly made a mistake passing on D.K. Metcalf to improve their receiving game.

During the 2019 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles felt confident enough in using a second-round selection on JJ Arcega-Whiteside since the rookie wideout seemed like he would be a great fit in an offense loaded with numerous talent already.

Almost one year later, early observation is the Eagles will regret their decision to go with the former Stanford star, especially when seeing how things played out with D.K. Metcalf as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

One of the most tricky factors about the draft is trying to determine how young players will adjust from college to the pro level, and while there were some concerns surrounding Metcalf at the time, the Seahawks appear to have ended up with a steal at wideout.

Despite some of the frustrations that most rookies experience in their first year of NFL action such as dropped passes, Metcalf already looks like he’s on the right path to eventually becoming a top wideout in the NFL if this past season is any indication of what is in store.

From torching Philadelphia in his playoff debut with seven catches for 160 yards with a score to catching 58 passes during the regular season for 900 yards with seven touchdowns, Seattle clearly has a lot to build on from Metcalf’s rookie campaign.

Meanwhile, it’s difficult to put into words just how much of a disappointment Arcega-Whiteside turned out to be during his first year in the NFL after only catching 10 passes for 169 yards to go along with one touchdown.

What made this situation even more frustrating for Philadelphia is since the offense finished the year without their top three wideouts, the opportunities were certainly there for Arcega-Whiteside, yet for some reason, the rookie struggled to step up.

Over time, Arcega-Whiteside could very well develop into the kind of receiver the Eagles are hoping for to build around their offense. But when seeing how much the Seahawks are already benefitting from selecting Metcalf with the final pick in the second round, it’s difficult not to wonder what could have been.

Thanks to his massive size and strength, Metcalf seems like the kind of player who is only going to continue getting better with experience, meaning the Eagles appear to have messed up big time by going with Arcega-Whiteside instead last April.