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The Pittsburgh Steelers have done an incredible job in recent years at selecting contributors at wide receiver outside the first round of the draft. Antonio Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and Martavis Bryant are all examples of impact wideouts that the Steelers drafted outside of the draft's first 32 selections.
And with their first selection of this year's NFL draft — the 49th overall pick in the second round — the Steelers may have found their next example of a middle-round impact pass catcher in Notre Dame receiver Chase Claypool.
With franchise quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger returning from an injury that kept him out for all but two games last season, Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner believes Big Ben should be excited about the team's newest addition. Per ESPN, Fichtner said:
“In my heart, I know Ben is working hard to get back … And when he has the ability to throw the ball down the yard and feel really good about the percentage of those completions and big plays, I know for a fact he’s going to be excited about the opportunity to have one more weapon and be able to throw balls up.”
Claypool comes to Pittsburgh with a tantalizing blend of size and speed. At 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, the native Canadian ran an impressive 4.42 40-yard dash at the 2020 combine. About that size-speed combo, Fichtner said,
“It’s really exciting for a quarterback because you’ve got this catch radius and these ball placements that don’t always have to be perfect.”
As a senior, Claypool caught 66 passes for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Fighting Irish and the Steelers staff hopes he can bring that impact to their franchise.
