The Pittsburgh Steelers already have a solid group of young wide receivers in JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington, but they further addressed the position in the draft, selecting Notre Dame's Chase Claypool in the second round.
An unidentified NFL offensive coordinator loved the Steelers' selection, naming Claypool as one of the top steals of the draft. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the unnamed coordinator said,
“Matchup guy, runs vertical, big, 238 [pounds] … Exactly what that team needs.”
Claypool indeed has great size at 6-foot-4 and nearly 240 pounds, which makes the fact that he ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine all the more impressive.
The 21-year-old spent four years at Notre Dame, arriving at the school in 2016.
He didn't get much playing time during his freshman year, logging just five catches for 81 yards. The following season, Claypool was still very much on the outside looking in, catching 29 passes for 402 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
It wasn't until his junior campaign that Claypool's role finally began to grow, as he snared 50 balls for 639 yards and four scores. He then broke out in his senior season, hauling in 66 receptions for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns.
How much work Claypool will actually get during his rookie year remains to be seen. He will likely begin behind Smith-Schuster, Johnson and Washington on Pittsburgh's depth chart, and due to the coronavirus pandemic, his offseason work with Ben Roethlisberger will be limited.
However, there is no doubt that the Steelers landed an athletic freak, and coaches around the league seem to agree.
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