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Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Chase Claypool made quite an impact in Week 5, as he led his team to an impressive 38-29 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The 22-year-old was filling in for the injured Diontae Johnson, and boy did he deliver. This led Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to send out a challenge for his young wide receiver.
Roethlisberger revealed what he told Claypool after the youngster's coming out party against the Eagles:
“The thing I told him after the game is he isn’t going to be able to sneak up on anybody,” Roethlisberger said, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (h/t Josh Alper of NBC Sports). “So how is he going to rise to the occasion now that people are going to be watching him?”
Fair point from Roethlisberger here. The fact that Claypool was named as the AFC offensive player of the week pretty much puts a target on his back. Opposing defenses will now have him on their radar, so Claypool will need to step up his game from here on out.
On Sunday against Philadelphia, Claypool was targeted 11 times, catching seven of them for 110 yards. The second-round pick scored three touchdowns on the evening, while also completing a rushing TD on three carries.
The Steelers are now set to face off against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, and it remains uncertain if Johnson will be available for his team. If he misses more time, then this could provide Chase Claypool with an opportunity to build on his outstanding effort from the previous week.
