Player: DK Metcalf
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: There are probably few players in the NFL who are struggling more than DK Metcalf is right now just two games into the season. He already has numerous drops, the specific number depending on who you ask. The bottom line is, despite a bounty of opportunities, he isn’t making plays.
To put things in perspective, DK Metcalf is struggling enough that we’re not even talking about Joey Porter Jr. right now. That could be the focus today if the Steelers actually won, instead of scoring all of three points. At this point, that problem feels like a luxury, as there are more immediate concerns.
Among the most prominent is figuring out what’s wrong with DK Metcalf, who has dropped three, four, perhaps even five passes during the first two games of the season. He certainly dropped two yesterday, about which there is no debate. For the second straight week, it is a high-volume, low-production affair.
After catching 4 passes on 10 targets for 40 yards last week, Metcalf turned in a similar performance. Against the Patriots, he caught 4 of 9 targets, only for just 27 yards. The Steelers’ top receiver earning $30 million per season, he has 8 catches for 67 yards in two games.
While DK Metcalf is far from the Steelers’ only issue on offense, he is certainly a prominent one. The offensive line may actually be the biggest, but you simply can’t have your top wide receiver playing this way. Especially in a game in which you’re missing your No. 2, as the Steelers were yesterday.
Not that they have much recourse—or any recourse. I can’t see them demoting Metcalf and reducing his role, at least not yet. It’s not like Roman Wilson and Germie Bernard are going to be the second coming of Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2018. But whatever is going on, whether it’s a mental block or something else that is causing him to struggle, Pittsburgh desperately needs him to get over it.
With the 2026 regular season here, we have stock to take. Already promising a year of change, the Steelers have shaken things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, the Steelers showed the ability to win the division and make the playoffs. But they also showed that their progress was minimal, since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the AFC North. But it didn’t help.
