Seahawks might have won the DK Metcalf trade following early draft move

It's never easy to watch a good player leave, and Seattle Seahawks fans had to deal with that twice in the same offseason. Not only did they send quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, but they also traded disgruntled wide receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Seattle replaced them in free agency by signing quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Cooper Kupp. There are questions with both, but they could have done a lot worse. They also used the draft pick acquired from Pittsburgh to land a potential superstar.

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The Seahawks packaged the 52nd pick from the Steelers and their own selection at No. 82 for No. 35 overall. That's where they took South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. That led Aaron Levine to do a look back at the entire situation and noted they moved on from a frustrated player and replaced him with Kupp and Emmanwori. It cost them another third, but they saved roughly $14 million per year in the process.

You could say the #Seahawks traded a disgruntled D.K. Metcalf and a 3rd round pick (82) for Cooper Kupp and Nick Emmanwori and saved about $14 mil/year in the process.
— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) April 25, 2025

Clearly this isn't an exact swap, but it's just an example that not every trade is a death sentence for a franchise. Seattle had two players who were ready for a fresh start and they found a way to come out of it just fine.

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