Steelers rookie cornerback Daylen Everette is leaning into one of the NFL’s toughest offseason matchups—practice reps covering DK Metcalf—saying the challenge is helping him improve as he looks to contribute as a rookie.
Steelers rookie cornerback Daylen Everette is spending this offseason in a matchup that’s almost designed to expose every crack in a young corner’s game.
Everette has been getting plenty of work with the first-string defense, and with starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr. sitting out while seeking a new contract, his reps have come against the first-string offense. That has meant covering one of the most imposing targets in the league: wide receiver DK Metcalf.
“[Metcalf] is a big physical guy, so going against someone like him, it can help me to guard anyone else,” Everette said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “I enjoy going against him because I know it’s helping me get better.”
The point isn’t just getting through practice. Everette is framing the work as preparation—against size, strength and speed that don’t come around often in drills. And he’s clearly comfortable leaning into it, because in his mind, the difficulty is the entire lesson.
Before arriving in Pittsburgh, Everette was a first-team All-SEC cornerback at Georgia last year. He played a steady role for four years with the Bulldogs and got a lot of time against high-quality competition. The Steelers are counting on that track record to translate. hoping the workload and experience Everette has already built will be enough for him to contribute as a rookie.
Observers of the Steelers’ offseason practices have said Everette looks like he’s ready to take on NFL competition, particularly while covering Metcalf—an assignment that can quickly separate promising technique from NFL-ready instincts.
Steelers Daylen Everette DK Metcalf Joey Porter Jr NFL offseason cornerback Georgia Bulldogs practice
Metcalf is a cheat code lol.
So Porter Jr is out getting a contract and now the rookie is getting to cover Metcalf? That sounds like it could go either way, like practice reps don’t mean anything til the regular season.
I thought you had to be fast to cover DK but apparently it’s all physical stuff. Also Metcalf doesn’t even cover himself so how does that help Everette “guard anyone else”?? Feels like coach talk.
Man Steelers fans really hoping one offseason practice covering DK means he’s ready. Like I’m sure it helps but Joey Porter Jr sitting out for a contract is still wild. Metcalf is basically built in a lab, so if he can handle that then cool… but what about route reads and actual game situations? Not sure. Georgia = good I guess, but NFL is different, right?