Steelers rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool wasn't considered among the top 10 prospects at the position in this year's draft, which was one of the deepest at the position in recent memory.
Claypool was widely ranked just outside the top 10 by most draft analysts. And the Steelers made him the 11th receiver selected when they took him 49th overall -- their top selection in this draft.
Given the Steelers' track record with wide receivers in the draft, there's good reason to think Claypool will be a hit for the team -- perhaps as soon as this season.
There's also this, which was released by NFL Research right after Claypool tore up the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year.
Only two wideouts to measure 6’4” & 235 pounds or bigger have run a sub-4.45 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine since 2003:
One is known as “Megatron” (Calvin Johnson). The other?
Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool at the 2020 Combine.@NDFootball @ChaseClaypool pic.twitter.com/iHByYLhnp1
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) February 28, 2020
That's quite the comparison. Calvin Johnson, to whom Claypool measures up against quite well, will get serious consideration for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year when the vote is taken prior to this season's Super Bowl. He finished his nine-year career with 731 receptions for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns as a nearly unstoppable force for the Lions.
But is that the correct comparison for Claypool?
Claypool measured in at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds at the combine. He ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash, had a 40.5-inch vertical jump and 126-inch standing broad jump. He also did 19 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press.
"You can’t teach 6-4, 238, 4.41 time. It is just something that doesn’t fall off of a tree," new Steelers wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard said last week as the team kicked off its training camp at Heinz Field. "You get the chance to harness that kind of talent and kind of shape it and mold it into something that could be really, really special."
Hilliard is right. In the past 10 drafts, there have been just three pass catchers who have been at least 6-foot-3, at least 228 pounds or more and have run a 4.42-second 40-yard dash or faster.
The first was Giants tight end Evan Engram, who measured in at 6-foot-3, and 234 pounds. Engram, who ran a 4,42-second 40 like Claypool, was selected by the Giants in the first round in 2017. He had a 36-inch vertical jump and 125-inch standing broad jump, both numbers that were less than what Claypool did.
The Steelers were interested in Engram that season, but he was selected eight picks before they took T.J. Watt. That has worked out OK.
The other player in the past 10 years who compares favorably to Claypool athletically is Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf. Metcalf measured in at 6-foot-3, 228 pounds at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.
Metcalf isn't quite as big as Claypool, but he was just a tick faster (4.33 seconds in the 40), with the same vertical jump and just a little longer standing broad jump (134 inches). Metcalf was the last pick of the second round in 2019 by the Seahawks, two selections before the Steelers took Diontae Johnson.
So, what did Engram and Metcalf do in their rookie seasons?
Engram had 64 catches for 722 yards and six touchdowns in 2017. Metcalf had 58 catches for 900 yards and seven scores.
This is not to suggest that Claypool will put up similar numbers. The Steelers aren't necessarily counting on him to start, which both Engram and Metcalf did. But if you look at his college production, it is better than that of Engram or Metcalf, both of whom played at Mississippi.
Engram's best season came in 2016, when he had 65 catches for 926 yards and eight touchdowns. Metcalf's best season came in 2017 when he had 39 receptions for 646 yards and seven scores as he battled injuries throughout his career.
Claypool had 66 receptions for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2019 at Notre Dame.
Claypool is going to have his work cut out for him to get onto the field. The Steelers only have 14 padded training camp practices starting Aug. 17 before they open the regular season Sept. 14 against the Giants. He had no on-field offseason workouts to learn the offense.
"I’ve felt really welcomed here because all of the receivers have given me their advice, their personal advice, their tips and tricks," Claypool said of the other Steelers receivers. "They’ve helped me learn the playbook I think all the receivers, honestly, (Ryan) Switzer, JuJu (Smith-Schuster), James Washington, Diontae, all those guys have really been helpful for my transition here."
They all realize what that combination of size and speed can mean for the team.
"I think as an organization, we all chomped at the bit," Hilliard said of the selection of Claypool. "And he can do so much for the football team and effect the football team in a positive manner, outside of playing receiver. We love that, we love his physicality, his playmaking ability and his speed."
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