The Steelers selected Chase Claypool, Wide Receiver, out of the University of Notre Dame. He was 17th pick in the second round and was the eleventh wide receiver drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Biography
Chase Claypool is 6’4” and 238 pounds. Chase enrolled at Notre Dame after being one of the most successful high school players ever to come out British Columbia. He played four years at Notre Dame and will be 22 years old at the beginning of the 2020 NFL Season. While playing in South Bend, Claypool competed for targets with Cole Kmet, Equanimeous St. Brown, Miles Boykin, and Chris Finke.
College Production
Chase Claypool broke out at the age of 21 (age during their first season with a 20% receiving dominator rating) in his fourth season for the Fighting Irish. During Claypool’s breakout senior season, he also had his best season at 21 years old. Claypool had 66 catches, for 1,037 receiving yards, and 13 scrimmage touchdowns for a receiving dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s receiving yards and receiving touchdowns) of 33.4% (56th percentile). Claypool had mediocre age-adjusted production by averaging 541.3 scrimmage yards (38th percentile) and 4.8 scrimmage touchdowns (47th percentile) per season throughout his career at Notre Dame. He failed to demand a significant part of his school’s offense until his final season with an average scrimmage dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s scrimmage yards and scrimmage touchdowns) per season of 9.1% (33rd percentile). Claypool wasn’t efficient either and only averaged 0.60 scrimmage yards per team play (36th percentile).
Please enjoy this free preview of Factory Sports dynasty football content. If you are not already a Factory Sports member, you can sign up right here. For just $19.99 a year, you get all of our Dynasty, Redraft, IDP, Devy, and DFS content. Become a member today.
Athleticism
[profiler]ChaseClaypool[/profiler]
Chase Claypool has an elite height-adjusted speed score of 129.8 (99th percentile) after running a 4.42-second 40-time at the NFL Combine. He has an elite burst score of 131.9 (92nd percentile) as well. Claypool is a move tight end trying to play wide receiver. His size, speed, and athletic ability ooze upside at the NFL level depending on how the Team Name utilizes him at the pro level.
An @ff_walrus fun fact: Claypool and Calvin Johnson are the only two receivers to be at least 6’4”, 235 pounds and run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.45 seconds.
NFL Landing Spot
Pittsburgh Steelers: The 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers were a trainwreck you couldn’t look away from. A Week 2 injury to Roethlisberger ended his season, as well as the ineffectiveness of their running game. All indications point to Roethlisberger being back in 2020, bringing his career 94 passer rating with him. This is great news for the WR room. Mason Rudolph struggled in relief, predictably trickling down to Juju Smith-Schuster (injured for part of the year), James Washington and Diontae Johnson. Johnson led all rookies in receptions, but struggled in some other areas. Nevertheless, he is a talented prospect, as is James Washington. This trio combined for 47% of all team targets, and 81% of the team targets. 2018 TE4 Eric Ebron was brought in. If he is able to get back to form, there will be even less targets to be found outside of him and the big three receivers. Impressive numbers considering that only one of the three played in every game. This is a very promising young core. It would be very difficult for a new receiver to crack in. Juju is a free agent after this season, which could make a rookie worth monitoring if the Steelers choose to not resign him. But given the promise he’s shown, that seems unlikely.
Rivals’ Rapid Analysis
Chase Claypool is an athletically gifted wide receiver with an exceptional final season of production in college. He will look to use his size, speed, and strength to dominate defenders in the NFL. The Steelers invested second round draft capital into Claypool. He has a tough opportunity for 2019, but stash potential and will compete with Juju, Washington, and Johnson for targets from Roethlisberger.
Chase Claypool is in Shawn’s third wide receiver tier, his WR13, and his Overall Rookie Rank20. Shawn would target Claypool in the late second round in superflex rookie drafts (mid-to-late second round in single QB). This is a great pick for the Steelers. The Canadian Crusher is enormous and versatile. He can line up at WR or TE. His 2020 viability is low, as he will likely slot in behind Juju, Washington, Johnson, and Ebron. The promise that Claypool showed at Notre Dame, along with an incredible showing at the NFL Combine make Claypool a great addition to this team. Worth noting is that the Steelers can move on from Ebron after this season if they choose, and Juju is a free agent. If the team does extend Juju and walk away from Ebron, Claypool can easily transition into the TE role. With his size and speed he can be a fantasy TE1 in that role. Don’t expect any returns in 2020, but the future could be bright for Claypool.
Chase Claypool is in Dave’s third wide receiver tier, his WR13-15, and his 23rd-25th rookie overall. Dave would target Claypool in the late-second or early-third round of superflex rookie drafts (mid-late-second round in single QB). Claypool being drafted by the Steelers doesn’t help his value in fantasy football. Pittsburgh is a high volume offense when Roethlisberger is healthy. However, he will be battling for the third seat at the table when it comes to opportunity with James Washington, Eric Ebron, and the running backs. Claypool does have excellent draft capital, but unimpressive age-adjusted production and a poor landing spot makes Claypool a mid-late-second round rookie draft pick.
This article was written in collaboration with Dave Wright. For more analysis check out Dave and Shawn’s previous articles at Dynasty Football Factory. Additionally, you can also find Dave’s dynasty superflex rankings at Dynasty Football Factory. Stay tuned for more rookie wide receiver rapid reaction articles from us throughout the entire NFL Draft. We will also give you instant reactions for priority UDFA wide receivers to help you try and find the next Adam Thielen. Interact with Dave and Shawn on Twitter @ff_spaceman and @ff_walrus. You can listen to our rivalry on our podcast @ATaleofTwoRivals with @ff_banterman.
Information found in this article was gathered from @ff_spaceman’s College Prospect Database, PlayerProfiler.com, Sports-Reference.com, AirYards.com, and a prospect’s college team website.
