No chance Rookie of the Year comes from Steelers in 2020

The Steelers are dealing with a number of disadvantages when it comes to their rookie class. Here’s why the 2020 Rookie of the Year will not come from Pittsburgh.

I know you might be thinking this is a bit premature, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Rookie of the Year in 2020 will not come from the Pittsburgh Steelers. There are a number of reasons why this will be the case.

Let’s start with the Steelers draft history. Despite having some impressive rookie contributions under Mike Tomlin, there are certain positions that are much more likely to run away with Rookie of the Year honors; the obvious being quarterback.

Clearly, this isn’t something Pittsburgh has made a big priority since drafting Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. With teams like the Bengals, Dolphins, and Chargers investing in talented quarterbacks this year, it’s even less likely a Steelers player could come away with this award.

In addition, the Steelers 2020 draft class doesn’t boast a single promising candidate for either Rookie of the Year or Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Much of this has to do with Pittsburgh being without their first-round draft choice this year.

Being the first of Pittsburgh’s selections this past April, we would have to assume that wide receiver Chase Claypool would stand the best chance of competing for this title as a rookie, but his chances are slim to none. Despite the return of Ben Roethlisberger to the Steelers this season, Claypool will be buried behind a deep group of pass catches that includes players like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington, and Eric Ebron.

Even if he is somehow able to climb his way up the depth chart mid-way through his rookie season, it will be far too late to make a legitimate run for the Rookie of the Year award.

On defense, Alex Highsmith is the only long-shot candidate that has any glimmer of hope as a Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Steelers. However, this isn’t realistic at all. T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree will rarely leave the field this year barring injuries. When they do, Ola Adeniyi will likely be the first outside linebacker off the bench for the team.

Even if Highsmith manages to carve out a role in a rotation at edge defender as a rookie (which is unlikely), he won’t earn enough snaps to make a case for the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Obviously, injuries could always occur, and in a year where players could miss weeks at a time due to COVID-19  testing, anything could happen, but for the Steelers, it’s just not rational to think that any of their rookies have a shot in 2020.

The Steelers still have their 2021 first-round pick, and perhaps they will be able to boast a Rookie of the Year candidate next season. But for now, there is no chance that any NFL rookie awards come out of Pittsburgh in 2020.