BamaInsider is unveiling its annual top-40 list for the Alabama football team. Players were rated based on their projected impact for the Crimson Tide this season. Today we break into the top five with wide receiver John Metchie III.
2020 highlights: Played in all 13 games last season, making 11 starts… Finished second on the team with 55 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns… Ranked seventh in the SEC averaging 16.7 yards per catch… Forced a fumble during the SEC Championship Game against Florida… Selected as one of the offensive players of the week by Alabama coaches for his play against Texas A&M… Named a special teams player of the week by the Alabama coaches following Ole Miss.
Most memorable performance: John Metchie III filled up the stat sheet several times during his breakout sophomore season last year. He eclipsed the 150-yard mark twice through the air, pulling in five receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns against Texas A&M before tallying seven catches for 151 yards against Tennessee. He also notched a career-high eight receptions for 81 yards during the national championship game against Ohio State.
However, the biggest play Metchie made last season occurred when the ball wasn’t in his hands.
With Alabama and Florida tied during the first quarter of the SEC Championship Game, Mac Jones made what appeared to be a critical mistake as the quarterback was picked off by Florida defensive back Trey Dean at the Gators’ 13-yard line. Fortunately for Alabama, Metchie was there to turn momentum back in the Tide’s favor. The Canadian receiver zeroed in on Dean, catching up to him from behind before delivering a hockey-style hit to jar the ball loose and allow Alabama to regain possession.
“I ain’t going to lie,” former Alabama defensive back Patrick Surtain II said. “I told him, ‘You need to come to defense and play safety.’ I didn’t know he had that in him. It was a good hit.”
The following play, Jones hit DeVonta Smith for a 31-yard touchdown to give Alabama the lead. The Tide went on to win the game 52-46. Metchie recorded four receptions for 62 yards in addition to his memorable hit.
Why he’s here: After losing four first-round receivers over the past two years, Alabama is hoping its next wave of Ryde Outs will be just as productive. While the Tide should still have a talented receiving corps, Metchie figures to have the biggest say in the offense’s ability to maintain its punishing aerial attack.
While the 6-foot, 190-pound receiver doesn’t have the same game-breaking speed as Jaylen Waddle or Henry Ruggs III before him, he did establish himself as a big-play threat last season, averaging 16.65 yards per reception while recording six receptions of 40-yards or more. He was also consistent, recording 50 or more yards in each of his final six games.
With DeVonta Smith and Waddle now in the NFL, defenses will likely devote more attention Metchie’s way this season. If he’s able to maintain his production from last year, it will go a long way toward opening up the rest of Alabama’s offense.
Possible achievements: Even after breaking onto the scene last year, Metchie is a long way out from reaching any of the Tide’s receiving milestones, especially after Smith’s assault on the record books last season. Nevertheless, the junior has plenty to play from an individual standpoint. Metchie has already seen his name mentioned in early NFL mock drafts. Sports Illustrated has him projected to land No. 17 overall to the New England Patriots, while The Athletic has him going No. 29 to the Buffalo Bills and Draft Wire has him going No. 32 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Key quote: “Alabama is one of those places that you come here if you love competition and, as everyone saw last year, our receiver room was full of competitors, and I think that helped me grow a lot,” Metchie said last season. “It also helped me see like, what the potential and what I could possibly achieve so I think being in that room, and just that whole year of me kind of being behind all of those guys really helped.”