Metcalf advises rookies to sit down last in team meetings

Sophomore receiver DK Metcalf told incoming rookies to remain standing when they enter meeting rooms as they start assimilating into NFL locker rooms.

The Seattle Seahawks star spoke at the first rookie webinar following the NFL draft. He was on a panel that included Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, and was moderated by Seahawks vice president of player engagement Maurice Kelly.

"I think Mo told us in our rookie meeting: 'Don't sit nowhere. Let everybody come in first and sit down. Then you find your seat last,'" Metcalf said, according to Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press. "So, that really set the tone for the year and how to approach everything. Just wait my turn and soak up as much knowledge from the vets as I could."

Kelly, a former defensive back, played for the Seahawks from 2000-02.

"It's a humbling experience," Kelly said. "These guys are the best of the best in college football and so they come into the league and everybody has a story. (But) really, nobody cares that you won a national championship before. You're entering into a business world and into a world of professional athletes. So, these guys were collegiate athletes and they come into this room and they used to be the best of the best, and now they have to sit back, observe, and find a way to fit in."

Metcalf exploded for 900 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie year after being drafted in the second round.

The Ole Miss product also spoke to rookies about social media, how to handle their finances, and the 2020 pre-draft process, which was altered significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I told some guys it's a good thing and a bad thing, because what I learned last year about the whole draft process is people are looking for something bad to point out about you no matter what it is," Metcalf said. "So, the less opportunity teams had to nitpick anything you did wrong was a better position for you. But for the guys who didn't get invited to the combine, who only had a chance to show what they could do at pro day, that's the other bad part about it, so there's two ways you can look at it."