Prospect Bio

John Metchie was born in Taiwan and spent his early life in Ghana. When he was six, his family moved to Canada where he discovered the game of football. He made another move to Maryland for high school where he attended St. James High School. He also spent some time at The Peddie Prep School in Hightown, New Jersey. He finished his high school career with over 1,300 rushing yards, 2,500 receiving yards, and 42 total touchdowns. He received more than 20 offers as a four-star recruit. Metchie arrived at Alabama in 2019 where he was stuck behind studs like Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Devonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle. Unsurprisingly, it was a quite freshman campaign with just four receptions for 23 yards. 

The depth chart opened up in 2020 with Ruggs and Jeudy departing for the NFL and Waddle suffering a significant ankle injury four games in. Metchie took advantage with 55 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns. He totaled 81 yards in the team’s National Championship win over Ohio State. At the conclusion of the 2020 season, Metchie was awarded the Jon Cornish Trophy as the best college football player from Canada. With Smith and Waddle out of the picture in 2021, Metchie caught 96 passes for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns. Unfortunately, he missed the National Title game because of a torn ACL he suffered in the SEC Championship.

College Stats

John Metchie College Stats Courtesy of sports-reference.com

Positives

+Can run every route on the route tree

+Creates good separation 

+Creates yards after the catch 

+Excellent start/stop ability

+7.4 receptions per game in 2021

+Early Declare

Negatives

-Recovering from late-season torn ACL

-Won’t be able to answer athleticism questions at the Combine/pro day 

-Tends to be a body-catcher which creates some drops 

-Struggles in contested situations 

-Not a physical player 

-Age 21 Breakout (32nd-percentile —PlayerProfiler.com)

-11.9 YPR in 2021

-22.6% College Dominator (29th-percentile—PlayerProfiler)

-17% receiving touchdown share in 2021

Highlight Reel

Comparable Player: TBD

NFL Draft Projection: Day 2

Bottom Line:

Questions still remain about John Metchie’s speed and all around athleticism and unfortunately we won’t get the answers to those thanks to the ACL injury. However, there is still a lot to like about the Alabama receiver. He’s an experienced route runner who creates consistent separation and can eat up yardage after the catch. He commanded targets and was productive playing alongside Devonta Smith in 2020 and Jameson Williams in 2021. Metchie projects as a day two pick in the NFL Draft who will likely run the majority of his routes from the slot. From a dynasty perspective, he feels like a decent second round rookie pick but he lacks the upside of some of the other players who will be drafted around him.

Post Draft Analysis:

John Metchie should slide right into the starting slot role in Houston with Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins manning the boundaries. He could become a favorite target for Davis Mills as soon as he is recovered from his late-season ACL injury. 

Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, PFN, PFF, TDN

Yards Per-Formance Prospect Grade