In just his second season with the Seattle Seahawks, DK Metcalf is set to break a franchise record that has stood for 35 years.
Metcalf is just five yards behind Steve Largent’s franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season with one week left to play in the regular season. Metcalf enters this Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers with 1,282 yards on the year. Largent’s 1,287 yards from the 1985 season has stood as the franchise benchmark at the position.
“Just to break a record that’s been standing for so long, you know, it’s just a blessing just to be in this position,” Metcalf said on Thursday. “And an amazing opportunity I have in front of me.”
Metcalf needs just six yards to break Largent’s mark. He’s only failed to accomplish that once in his career when he was held without a catch by the Arizona Cardinals late last season. Metcalf wore a Largent jersey that he purchased himself to his first ever game against the Cincinnati Bengals last year.
“He’s the GOAT receiver in Seattle, so I’m just trying to be like him,” Metcalf said at the time.
Largent was the league’s all-time leading receiver when he retired after the 1989 season. He became the first member of the franchise to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Metcalf said he looked up what the record was last year and put it on his list of goals.
“I kind of looked up the record last year and saw how far it was until the end of the season so I knew it was going to be on the agenda this year to break it,” Metcalf said. “I got to start small, start with Largent’s record and then hopefully move on up to Calvin [Johnson}'s record.”
Johnson holds the mark for most receiving yards ever in a single season with 1,964 for the Detroit Lions in 2012.
“He can make every catch, do everything you want him to do,” quarterback Russell Wilson said. “To be even mentioned in the same category as a guy like Steve Largent so early is a blessing in itself.”