Pittsburgh Steelers: Reviewing the top 2020 rookies
By Jonah Hovis
Reviewing the top 2020 rookies for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This year did not go as planned for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had high expectations of Lombardi chasing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a hot start which then led to an end of year cold spell, losing the last four of five games. Ultimately then losing at Heinz Field to the Browns, which ended a 17-game losing streak for the Browns in Pittsburgh.
Although the year ended not as they may have wanted it to, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a handful of young rookies that could be even more a part of the team than they were this previous season.
Chase Claypool, WR
To start this review of the rookies who were showcased this year by the Pittsburgh Steelers, you have to start with “Mapeltron”, Chase Claypool the second-round choice out of Notre Dame.
Claypool out of college was seen more as a wideout that would transfer to a hybrid tight end role in the eyes of many draft analysis. Claypool proved that he can hold his own out wide as he showed flashes of high-caliber play all season.
The young man out of Notre Dame is only 22-years young and looked like a raw talent out of college. Claypool stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs around 240 pounds, also to add he ran a 4.42 at the NFL Combine, you could say he is a physical specimen.
Claypool showed he is more than just a freak of nature by putting together a solid rookie year statistically and proved he can ball. Claypool is terrific in the air catching 50/50 balls and has a great nose for the ball.
Claypool broke out as a top player for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season against the Eagles. In that game, he caught seven passes on eleven targets for 110 yards and three touchdowns. Claypool also ran in a jet sweep in the Red Zone for a touchdown making it a combined four-touchdown outing, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Claypool showed that linebackers and safeties were too slow to guard and corners were physically unmatched for his size.
The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wideout ended the year with 62 catches, 873 yards, and nine touchdowns. Claypool is arguably the second most productive rookie pass-catcher behind Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.