NFL Draft: Fantasy football impact of Chase Claypool to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh made Chase Claypool the 49th selection in Thursday's NFL Draft. What does landing in Pittsburgh mean for Claypool's Fantasy outlook?
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With the 49th pick in the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected wide receiver Chase Claypool out of Notre Dame. Find Claypool's 2020 Fantasy outlook below:
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 238
Age: 21.7
Dynasty Ranking: 2.01 (WR7)
Redraft Ranking: WR58
Receiving: 39 catches for 599 yards and 4 touchdowns
Chase Claypool is one of the most intriguing players in the draft at any position. His high school playing days took place in British Columbia, and it took Claypool several years to even earn consistent playing time at Notre Dame. He played second fiddle to Myles Boykin his junior year, but when Claypool got his chance to shine as a senior, he took it.
Claypool is a true physical freak -- more so than any other receiver drafted thus far. At 6'4" and 238 pounds, his 4.42 40-time qualified as 99th percentile. He combines a massive frame with a 40.5-inch vertical to make his catch radius simply unfair for opposing defenders. That much was fully evident in Claypool's first season as the leading man at Notre Dame, when he recorded 1,037 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
The closest recent comparisons for Claypool phyiscally are Darren Waller or George Kittle. Both dudes are a little bit bigger than Claypool, but big receivers such as Devin Funchess, Mike Evans, and Brandon Marshall didn't test out nearly as well athletically. It's difficult to overstate just how physically dominant Claypool is for someone who moves as well as he does. And from a production standpoint, what Claypool did in 2019 is more impressive than any single season we saw from Waller, Kittle, Funchess, Marshall, or Dorial Green-Beckham -- another popular Claypool comp.
Personally, I believe Claypool's talents have been a bit overshadowed because he only came onto the national spotlight within the past year. Many of the receivers in this class have been highly touted for multiple seasons. Claypool clearly seemed undervalued as we enter the draft. And with the 49th pick, the team that has been better than any in the NFL at drafting receivers over the past 10 years validated that opinion.
Playing time may be challenging to come by as a rookie, as Diontae Johnson had a strong showing in 2019 and JuJu Smith-Schuster is playing for a contract. I think Claypool has enough talent to beat out James Washington for the third receiver spot, but it might not happen until half way through the season.
Pittsburgh still has Vance McDonald and Eric Ebron on the roster, so it appears Claypool will not be asked to transition to tight end -- at least not right away. Don't expect him to make much of an impact as a rookie, but the potential down the road is immense.
So which players are poised for breakouts, which sleepers do you need to jump on, and which busts should you avoid at all costs in your Fantasy football league? Join SportsLine now to get early 2020 Fantasy football rankings, plus see which WR is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.