Chase Claypool primed to be latest Steelers gem at receiver: Here's a closer look at the rookie's game

Claypool, who erupted with four TDs in Week 5, is a tight end-type mismatch for defenses

Another one. Yes, it looks like Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has unearthed another gem of a wide receiver he did not pick in the first round. Chase Claypool, who's basically half receiver, half tight end at 6-feet-4 and 238 pounds, erupted for four touchdowns -- three through the air -- in Pittsburgh's intrastate win over the Eagles in Week 5. He's now up to 13 catches for 261 yards (20.08 yards per) in his first four professional outings. 

It's early for a bold statement like what you're about to read, but because his size, athletic gifts and situation in Pittsburgh, Claypool has everything needed to become a player we look back upon as a pioneer in the gradually expanding position-less NFL.

On the most recent episode of All Things Covered with Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke about when and how Claypool caught the team's eye:

"We fell in love with Claypool by the way he sunk his teeth into the special teams combat down in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. He was special teams MVP at Notre Dame in his second year at school there. So he showed football awareness and things that were outside the wide receiver position, and for us, we believe that's a good indicator that you've got a football player and they're going to do the things that the wide receiver position requires." 

Claypool was my WR15 and No. 69 overall prospect in the 2020 class. (Yes, I adored the wideout group.) When the Steelers picked him at No. 49 overall, I wrote the following after giving the selection a "B" grade: 

Freaky size and combine but doesn't play to his speed. Will struggle to separate. Aggressive, at times dominant rebounder who will box out downfield. Positional versatility. Adds size element to Steelers receiver group. 

Ahhh yes. Claypool's combine. At that gargantuan size, he ran 4.42, had a 40.5-inch vertical and his broad jump placed in the 83rd percentile at the receiver position. He's freaky explosive. 

Of his 22 targets thus far, three have been broken up, and a few incompletions were errant throws from Ben Roethlisberger when Claypool simply wasn't open. So he's still having some trouble separating.

But the Steelers have done a marvelous job catering to Claypool's strengths. While legitimately tight end size, he spent the majority of his 2019 season at Notre Dame as a perimeter receiver (around 85% of his routes run). And 56 of his 83 routes run to date have come near the boundary. But, after his opening two NFL contests saw him run a combined four routes from the slot, Claypool ran 12 of them from that advantageous alignment against the Eagles and raked with three catches for 47 yards and two of his touchdowns. 

His other score against Philly was a 32-yarder sparked by a nasty release at the line of scrimmage against Jalen Mills and capped by forcing safety Marcus Epps to miss a tackle just shy of the 15-yard line. His work against press coverage on that play reminded me of a pre-draft Tik Tok I sent to illustrate how Claypool utilizes his explosiveness as a weapon at the start of his routes. 

@christrapasso

To put it simply: Notre Dame WR Chase Claypool is big and explosive ##nfldraft

♬ original sound - Chris Trapasso

The end of that play demonstrated another, more obvious, strength of Claypool's game -- high-pointing the football in traffic. And that's when he really resembles a tight end. He had 15 contested catches last season at Notre Dame, three more than Justin Jefferson and four more than Tee Higgins.

And Claypool's second NFL catch was a demonstration of his ability to make plays above the rim when he can't generate separation. Against Giants top cornerback James Bradberry -- who just so happens to be one of the longest corners in the league -- the rookie ran up the sideline, looked back shoulder then tracked the football gorgeously into his outstretched hands above his helmet before taking a big hit from safety Julian Love near the sideline. And he tapped his feet in bounds.  

Claypool's been more receiver than tight end early in Pittsburgh. And his release work at the line coupled with intimidating size makes him a difficult matchup on the outside even if he's not a super-twitchy separator. But now his slot snap rate is up to 32.5%, which places him right between Travis Kelce at 27.7% and George Kittle at 41.9%, the two best tight ends in football. I expect Claypool to stay in that range of slot snaps. 

While we shouldn't expect multiple touchdowns every week, after being utilized sparingly in the Steelers' first three games of 2020, Claypool proved to coaches he can be a focal point of the offense as a tight end-esque mismatch for linebackers, corners, and safeties from multiple pre-snap alignments. 

(All advanced stats courtesy of TruMedia unless otherwise noted.)