Pittsburgh Steelers make curious Chase Claypool pick in round two

The Pittsburgh Steelers made the curious pick of Chase Claypool in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, their only pick on day two.

No one likes day two skill position players on offense like the Pittsburgh Steelers like day two skill position players on offense.

The Steelers are notorious for taking shots on receivers and running backs on day two of the NFL Draft, and that trend continued in 2020 with Notre Dame’s versatile receiving threat Chase Claypool.

Claypool is considered by some to be a receiver, and others think he’s going to be a tight end. One way or another, he’s a tremendous athlete with size, speed, and a massive catch radius.

Chris Simms, who played for the Denver Broncos during his time in the NFL, thinks Claypool compares a bit favorably to Brandon Marshall.

Marshall was once a dominating threat at the receiver position with size, toughness, YAC (yards after the catch) ability, and strong hands.

Claypool obviously runs a lot faster at least in the 40-yard dash compared to Marshall, but just look at these traits…

Obviously the Steelers are expecting Ben Roethlisberger back healthy in the 2020 season. If Big Ben is back, then this pick makes a lot of sense.

Claypool can play a variety of positions in Pittsburgh’s offense, which also added tight end Eric Ebron, another freak of an athlete who is basically a huge wide receiver.

With only one selection on day two, however, this pick is a bit curious for the Steelers. Was this team really in need of another receiver? Tight end?

The Steelers had a number of other needs on both sides of the ball that could have been addressed with really good players here, and considering the fact that Claypool is not yet the sum of all his parts as a prospect, this pick makes little sense.