Notre Dame football: How does Chase Claypool fit with the Steelers?

Chase Claypool was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 49th overall pick in the NFL Draft. How does the former Domer fit with his new team?

If you weren’t already aware, the Pittsburgh Steelers draft the wide receiver position better than any team in the NFL, which bodes well for Chase Claypool.

Year after year, the Steelers find value outside of the first round with its wide receivers and regularly turn them into productive receivers at the next level. In fact, more often than not, Pittsburgh manages to find value in these receivers and turn them into stars in the NFL.

Just looking at Pittsburgh’s last 10 drafts (since 2010), the amount of talent it has drafted and developed just at the wide receiver position alone is astonishing.

• 2010 – Emmanuel Sanders (Round 3, 82)
• 2010 – Antonio Brown (Round 6, 195)
• 2014 – Martavis Bryant (Round 4, 118)
• 2017 – JuJu Smith-Schuster (Round 2, 62)
• 2019 – Diontae Johnson (Round 2, 66)
• 2020 – Chase Claypool (Round 2, 49)

When you take a look at the star power in just these handful of receivers, you see the Steelers clearly know what they are doing when it comes to drafting the wide receiver position.

Emmanuel Sanders is a star in the NFL, now currently playing with the New Orleans Saints.

Antonio Brown was the best wide receiver in the NFL for a few years running before he went off the rails.

Martavis Bryant, similar to Brown, had all the talent in the world but could not get it together off the field.

JuJu Smith-Schuster is one of the brightest young stars the NFL has at the moment, and his career is just beginning in Pittsburgh.

Diontae Johnson is a player that not too many people know about yet, but they will very soon. He is uber-talented and is poised for a breakout season in 2020.

And next in line to be a star wide receiver is the former Notre Dame standout Chase Claypool. Claypool has all the makings to be an outstanding 1-2 punch with JuJu Smith-Schuster, as Claypool has the height while JuJu has the game-breaking speed.

Also, on the topic of Smith-Schuster, is there anyone better for Claypool to learn from than him? JuJu has turned himself into a top-10 receiver in the NFL, and will surely teach his rookie counterpart the tricks of the trade.

The Canadian, Claypool, truly could not have found himself in a better position than in Pittsburgh. There is no pressure for him to immediately succeed as there are solid receivers above him, he went to one of the best organizations in the NFL, and he went to a team that develops receivers better than anyone.

As to how he fits in the Pittsburgh offense, Claypool will look to be an endzone target and a major mismatch for opposition defenses when you factor in his size and speed. Standing at 6’4″ and 238-pounds, Claypool is a matchup nightmare as he can beat you with his speed, and he will rarely ever lose contested 50-50 balls, which quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will love.

Of the Notre Dame players drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, it is reasonable to assume Claypool could have the best rookie season out of the lot. Cole Kmet also found a great landing spot in Chicago, but with the high-powered Steelers offense and Roethlisberger back at the helm at QB, Claypool could have a monster rookie season.