2022 NFL Draft Profiles: How Would Alabama WR John Metchie Fit With the Jaguars?

Does John Metchie make sense for the Jaguars to target on Day 2?

Author:
John Shipley
Publish date:
Apr 14, 2022 1:12 PM EDT

The 2022 NFL Draft season is upon us.

Among the 32 teams building their rosters to compete for the next Lombardi Trophy is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold 12 picks in this season’s draft -- including the No. 1 overall pick. The Jaguars are entering a new era after the Urban Meyer tenure, making this draft as pivotal as one could imagine.

As we march closer and closer to April’s draft, we will look at individual draft prospects and how they would potentially fit with the Jaguars. Instead of looking at any negatives, we are going to look at what the players do well and if they could match what the Jaguars need at the specific role or position.

In our next prospect breakdown, we take a look at Alabama wide receiver John Metchie, who has a top-30 visit with the Jaguars.

Overview

One of the nation's top wide receiver prospects in the 2019 recruiting cycle, Metchie is the next in a long line of star-studded high school prospects to find success at Alabama. Rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports, Metchie was ranked the No. 40 receiver in the nation, the No. 6 player in New Jersey and the No. 275 overall player in the nation.

A productive and impressive high school prospect, Metchie drew 22 offers out of high school. He ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over other programs such as Penn State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, East Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland,Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Texas, Vanderbilt, and Western Michigan.

Metchie appeared in 13 games as a true freshman in a reserve role, catching four passes for 23 yards.

Metchie started 11 games in 2020 following Jaylen Waddle's injury, catching 55 passes for 916 yards (16.7 yards per catch) and six touchdowns. Metchie finished his college career with 155 catches for 2,081 yards (13.4 yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns in 39 games, making 24 starts.

Metchie, 5-foot-11, 182 pounds, led Alabama in receptions in 2021 as he earned Second Team All-SEC honors following a 96-catch, 1,142-yard season where he also caught eight touchdowns.

Metchie's 2021 season ended with a torn ACL in early December, leading to him missing the final two games of the season.

What John Metchie Does Well

A true technician at wide receiver, there is a lot to like about Metchie's approach to the wide receiver position. He was a core piece of Alabama's offense, doing the dirty work in the passing game in 2021 as Jameson Williams functioned as the offense's deep threat and gadget player. Considering his production in two key seasons for Alabama -- once as Jaylen Waddle's replacement and then again as the team's top receiver -- and the respect he garnered inside the Alabama program, Metchie is an easy sell for NFL teams.

As a receiver, Metchie does his best work before and after the catch. He isn't a physically imposing wideout who will win often at the catch point and with physicality, but he has great footwork on his routes, showing the ability to make tight breaks without any false steps and also displaying the stop-and-start ability to thrive on longer-developing routes such as double moves.

Metche does a good job of shifting his momentum and not letting the defensive back know his route before he breaks, showing the ability to manipulate man coverage with his eyes and frame. Against zone coverages, he knows how to sit in a soft zone and also which depths the cut his routes off early at. He is also an asset on broken plays, working back to the quarterback when on the play-side while working vertically on the backside.

In terms of his ability after the catch, Metchie displays terrific vision for open lanes and the ability to manipulate pursuit angles. He has enough shiftiness and shake after the catch to force missed tackles, even if he doesn't break contact all that often. He isn't a player you will set up a lot of screens and short passes for, but he does a good job of getting more than what is there.

How John Metchie Would Fit With the Jaguars

If there is any reason to believe John Metchie makes sense for what the Jaguars look for at receiver, look no further than the below quote from head coach Doug Pederson after the Jaguars' first wave of free agency,

"But one of the things you got to realize, in the system that, I'll bring and that Press [Taylor] [will bring], that we're used to, these guys move around a lot," Pederson said.

"And we use them based on gameplan, where they can be most advantageous against an opponent. So he's gonna line up in the slot, he's gonna line up outside, he may line up next to a tackle. You know, I mean, there's just ways that we're going to use all of our receivers."

Metchie is just the type of player who fits that bill thanks to his quickness, smarts and competitiveness. He isn't an X receiver who can deal with press coverage every snap, but he can line up both in the slot and at Z because that was his entire skill set at Alabama. The Jaguars like smart wideouts who can lineup in multiple positions and win after the catch, and that is exactly what Metchie offers.

With that said, Metchie wouldn't solve the Jaguars' size issue at receiver. They have a few quicker types already who can win inside and out, but what they are lacking is a big-bodied receiver who can consistently win outside and down the field. For all of Metchie's skills, he isn't that type of receiver.

Verdict

This is a tough one. On one hand, Metchie profiles as a receiver who would thrive in a Doug Pederson offense thanks to his smarts, toughness and ability to play inside and outside. He has the skill set to work from the slot, can play Z and can run block despite his small size and frame.

On the other hand, the Jaguars already have a number of receivers who profile similar to Metchie. The Jaguars need more size at receiver, and a receiver with below-average height, length, hand size and overall frame would be a tough pick to marry with the rest of the wide receiver room. Add in his ACL injury and I think the Jaguars can justify taking Metchie in the fourth, but no sooner.

For all of our 2022 NFL Draft profiles, click below.