The Jets recently acquired wide receiver John Metchie III via trade and he has already played in three games for the team. Today we break Metchie down in detail.
The 25-year old Metchie is listed at 5’11” and 187 pounds and was a second round pick out of Alabama in 2022. After missing the entire 2022 season, Metchie started three games and caught 40 passes for 412 yards and a touchdown over the past two seasons with the Texans. However, he was traded to the Eagles at the start of this season and didn’t play much.
Background
Metchie has a unique background as he was born in Taiwan, lived in Ghana and Canada as a young child and is of Nigerian heritage. He attended high school in Maryland and then spent a year in New Jersey before heading to Alabama as a four-star recruit.
As a true freshman in 2019, Metchie played in all 13 games but only caught four passes and recorded one tackle.
However, in 2020, an injury to Jaylen Waddle enabled Metchie to start 11 of 13 games. He posted two games where he racked up over 150 receiving yards and ended up with 55 catches for over 900 yards and six touchdowns.
In 2021, he started every game and was named as a second-team all-SEC selection as he was third in the conference with 96 catches and 1,142 yards. He also had eight touchdown receptions, but suffered a serious late-season knee injury.
Despite the injury, Metchie declared for the 2022 draft and was selected in the second round by the Houston Texans. However, he was then diagnosed with a form of leukemia and missed his rookie year as he received treatment.
In 2023, he made his NFL debut early in the season and ended up with 16 catches for 158 yards in a reserve role.
Last season saw Metchie make the first three starts of his career and catch his first touchdown. He ended up with 24 receptions for 254 yards with his best numbers being posted against Aaron Glenn’s Detroit Lions defense when he had 74 yards on five receptions.
Metchie also has nine catches for 107 yards in four postseason appearances.
During preseason, Metchie was traded to the Eagles, but he didn’t really find a role with them as he had just four catches in the first seven games. He ended up being traded to the Jets in the Michael Carter II trade.
Since joining New York, Metchie had just one catch in his first game but then had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots and a career-high six catches for 65 yards and another touchdown against the Ravens.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Metchie brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Metchie doesn’t have much size, with a low catch radius. However, his speed, burst and acceleration are apparent on film.
He couldn’t post any workout numbers during the pre-draft process due to his knee injury so his last recorded 40-yard dash was 4.60 from when he was in high school. His current 40-yard dash is estimated at around 4.5 seconds.
Usage
Scouting reports mostly stated that Metchie would be better in the slot at the NFL level but he said he enjoys playing outside too and has actually played in the slot less than half of the time during his career.
Deep threat
Despite some obvious quickness, Metchie never really established himself as someone who will get behind the defense for deep balls, although he has made plenty of downfield catches down the seam and on his back shoulder.
In college, he established himself as a big play threat with a 16.7 yards per catch average, good for 8th in the SEC, in the 2020 season. However, this was skewed by some long plays with runs after the catch and his average was much lower in 2021. His longest catch at the NFL level has been just 28 yards.
Hands
Metchie’s hands have been quite reliable, including in college where he had a 74 percent catch rate. However, he did drop 15 passes, including eight in 2021, with both focus and catch technique letting him down at times.
At the NFL level, his catch rate is lower at 67 percent, although he has caught 14 of 15 targets this season. He’s only had a few drops.
Metchie can occasionally body catch or bobble the ball, and doesn’t have a ton of flashy highlight reel catches in his film but can make some athletic diving catches at times.
Routes
Metchie can run a full route tree and is a technically proficient route runner who is balanced and can generate separation with sharp cuts.
He has the ability to release clean and change direction on a dime to lose his man in tight quarters.
Red zone
At the NFL level, Metchie only had one touchdown when he joined the Jets, although he had had two more since arriving. Two of these three were in the red zone, as was his lone preseason touchdown.
In college, he had 14 touchdowns in two years as a starter, although some of these were from outside the red zone. He has a knack for finding gaps in the defense and getting early separation in tight areas.
After the catch
Metchie has some playmaking ability with the speed to run away from defensive players and beat angles, along with some good vision and elusiveness in space.
He had two fumbles in college.
Blocking
Despite being undersized, Metchie enjoys blocking and makes a good effort to come up with some good blocks in the running game and on receiver screens.
His lone NFL regular season penalty was for offensive holding.
Physicality
Metchie is a tenacious player who will play hard to the whistle and compete for the ball in traffic.
He gave a glimpse into his physical nature with this play while he was in college.
Special Teams
Special teams hasn’t been a big part of Metchie’s role anywhere so far in his career. At various times, he has been used as a blocker on kick return units, rushed punts and covered kicks, including a few snaps as a gunner. He had this tackle earlier this year on kickoff coverage:
He has limited experience of returning kickoffs, but his longest return was just 26 yards at any level.
Instincts and Intelligence
Metchie has displayed versatility and his on-field instincts are sharp in terms of finding gaps in zone coverage and his vision and open-field running.
He was on the SEC’s fall honor roll in 2020.
Attitude
Metchie is an absolute inspiration in terms of his courage and determination in overcoming serious illness and injuries to make it back to the NFL level and seems to be a beloved teammate who shows a team-first attitude. He won the NFL’s 2024 George Halas Award.
On the field, he has just one penalty at the NFL level, although he did have three more in preseason and four at the college level. In a recent game since being traded to the Jets, he got into it with an opponent in a post-play scuffle so he has a competitive edge.
Injuries
Metchie looks to be fully recovered from his knee injury in college, which was a torn ACL, although he missed some time last season with a shoulder injury. He also had a hamstring issue in 2023 and an ankle issue in 2021 but didn’t miss much time from these.
In addition to his recovery from cancer, Metchie was also diagnosed with a heart murmur in high school but doctors cleared him to continue playing.
Scheme Fit
As noted, Metchie is comfortable playing both inside and out and is already settling into the Jets’ system well. His role could change to more of a slot-based role if Garrett Wilson returns this season, though.
In college, he was a teammate of current Jet Malachi Moore. He also played with Andrew Beck and Tyler Johnson in Houston. He’s also been teammates with three injured Jets at the NFL level; Kris Boyd, Keilan Robinson and Byron Cowart.
Conclusions
We’ve already had a taste of how Metchie can fit into the Jets’ system and he’s already establishing himself as someone they will want to bring back in 2026.
He’s a pending restricted free agent but looks like the kind of player that will be tendered by the Jets as he could fit well into their rotation next year, even if they bring in further pass catching reinforcements.
It’s easy to root for Metchie and heartening to see the success he has had so far. Hopefully this continues beyond the 2025 season.
